“Quebec doesn’t have any vineyards. The wineries source their grapes and juice from wine regions around the world. Why would you want to travel there?” At a recent wine conference this statement was made to me by a wine writer. The reason Wine Trail Traveler’s Terry and Kathy want to travel to Quebec’s wineries is to dispel misconceptions such as the one above. There are many vineyards in the provence. Wine is made from the grapes harvested in those vineyards. Of course Quebec has its challenges growing grapes. But those challenges have been met.

Not only are there vineyards in Quebec, there a a variety of grapes grown. Some vineyards are tackling the vitis vinifera grapes such as Cabernet Franc, Gewürtztraminer and Riesling. I expect that we are more likely to find hybrid grape varieties such as Chancellor, De Chaunac, Marechal Foch, Seyval and Vidal. We should also see some of the grapes that have been developed for cold climates. We should discover Frontenac, St Croix and St. Pepin.

Wine travel affords opportunities to learn about wine regions world-wide. Walking through vineyards is perhaps a better way of knowing what is growing in the vineyards than a blog by a writer who never visited the region.

Over the next week, we will write about the vineyards and wineries we encounter in Quebec. Today we made our way on I-87 to northern New York. We visited two wineries that are growing hybrid grapes. We discovered that a new wine trail is developing. This new trail will include wineries along New York’s Adirondack Coast, Quebec and Vermont. This new trail will be unique. Not only will it include wineries from two states, but also wineries in two countries. We like this concept. It helps to create a wine region for tourism. In addition to a number of wineries, there are vineyards to stroll past.

Cheers,
Terry