Here’s to homegrown knowhow

holidays and celebration concept - close up of happy friends having christmas dinner at home, drinking red wine and clinking glasses

For this New Year, let’s take a closer look at products that illustrate the passion and expertise of Québec entrepreneurs. Don’t hesitate to serve and share them… generously!

Gin with the flavours of our forests

Gin is by no means a new drink. You have to go back to the 16th century, in the Netherlands, where it was hailed as an eau de vie with medicinal properties. It was not until 1988, and Bombay Sapphire, that subtle aromatics were added to the original juniper.

Back in style with the advent of many craft distilleries across Québec, gin is now characterized by the creativity of distillers who, inspired by botany, make an alcohol popular with those who enjoy fine spirits. My own favourite gin is Wabasso, an Indigenous word for “rabbit white as snow”. After only one

year of operation, the small Trois-Rivières distillery has won honours in international competitions. This gin has a delicate, subtly herbaceous flavour created through maceration of seasoning agents such as red clover, wintergreen (teaberry) and melissa leaves (lemon balm).

Brandy from Rougemont apples

In 1902, the Jodoin family acquired a 100-tree apple orchard. A century later, the family grows apples on 40 hectares (about 98.8 acres) of land. With four generations of apple growers behind him, one could say that Michel Jodoin has apples in his genes. His version of Calvados is made from a fermented cider distilled in a still, then aged three years in oak barrels.  A lightly roasted flavour with scents of ripe, caramelized apples.

Local boy makes good in the vineyards of Chablis

In the exceptional terroir of Bourgogne, Patrick Piuze, originally from Saint-Lambert, is growing his talent…particularly since the 2000s when his adventure in winemaking took him to the estates of Olivier Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet.

A while later, he was given the job of winemaking in Chablis and was put in charge of the wine storehouses of great winemakers such as Jean-Marc Brocard. His Piuze vintage, a “non dosé” (less than 3 gr. of residual sugar) sparkling wine, 100 percent chardonnay, is remarkable. It’s a nice achievement in which the fact that there’s no “dosage” allows the purity of the grape to shine.

Happy 2019!

 

Wabasso dry gin : SAQ 13737503 – $46,25

Michel Jodoin, Brandy de pomme 3 ans : SAQ 577601 – $45

Piuze, non dosé : SAQ  12999181 – $24,80

 

 

Lynda Lavertu48 Posts

Toujours tout sourire, Lynda se passionne pour le fabuleux monde du vin et tout ce qui saura plaire aux épicuriens. Sommelière diplômée, elle travaille à la SAQ et partage avec nous ses plus récentes trouvailles. / The ever-smiling Lynda is passionate about the fabulous world of wine and everything that will bring pleasure to epicures. A graduate sommelière – wine steward – she works at the SAQ and shares with us her most recent discoveries.

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