This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Many people were able to discover it thanks to the show Curious Beginon Télé-Québec. Sommelier, consultant and trainer, Michelle Bouffard, whose reputation is well established in Quebec, Canada and internationally, joins the team of contributors to the Plaisirs notebook to sign the From the vine to the glass column every Saturday. Meet the woman who approaches the world of wine in a supportive and uninhibited way.
Having left for Vancouver at the age of 21 to train in classical trumpet, Michelle Bouffard developed a passion for wine during her studies while working in a restaurant “to supplement her income”. Her interest and her already marked skills then invited her to change direction. She followed the training program of the International Sommelier Guild, then that of Wine & Spirit Education Trust, for which she obtained the highest distinctions. During this period, she co-founded the Vancouver company House Wine, specializing in cellar management and educational events (2003-2015), before returning to Montreal, where her expertise was sought after in particular on television, in magazines (Vero, Quenchetc.) and on the radio (Radio-Canada).
From trumpeter to sommelier, there seems to be a world that is completely opposed. What do these worlds have in common? Sharing, Michelle Bouffard immediately answers; the pleasure of sharing a piece of music with others or introducing them to a wine. This is also why she has been offering food and wine pairings to the public on Christian Bégin’s set for about ten years now. Her vocation remains undeniable; her passion, palpable.
Approaching wine differently
The deepening of her knowledge as well as her many meetings with players in the wine industry led her very early to take an interest in the future of wine. In 2017, she founded Tasting Climate Change, an international symposium that explores the challenges and possible solutions to address the impacts of global warming on the wine industry. She co-wrote What wine for tomorrow? Wine facing climate challengespublished in 2021 by Éditions Dunod. A second, revised edition will also be released in September.
Today, she and her skills are called upon all over the world, among other things for tailor-made conferences to help winegrowers with their challenges. Humbly, she insists on the idea of solidarity: “My role is to talk about what is possible, what already exists. I offer solutions to producers, but I also put them in touch with people who have already experienced these difficulties. Ultimately, it is collaboration that is important.”
She wants to communicate her environmental concerns to others, once again with a desire to share and transmit, in order to better understand the concerns of the environment.
Eco-responsible choices
This is the agreement that will guide the From Vine to Glass section. Each week, the sommelier will suggest bottles from producers who are pursuing a sustainable approach. It will not be a question of offering mainly wines that are certified sustainable or organic, the project would certainly be limited. However, she does mention, in passing, the unique character of New Zealand, “where more than 96% of its vineyard area is certified sustainable”.
A positive look will thus be taken at the eco-responsible efforts of producers here and elsewhere. Because the more we understand the challenges, the easier it is to act and be supportive, to play a role in the score: “In the end, it is the consumer who has the last word,” she believes. We have a lot of choices. So, why not favor producers who have started this process, who are trying to be part of the solutions, and thus contribute, with our dollars, to their longevity.”
The value of the wines selected by the expert—it is important to point out—will not suffer from this preferred sustainable approach. For each weekly theme, Michelle Bouffard will present a list of quality wines to the public: “Through the descriptions I will make, it is the profile of the wine that will guide the buyer,” says the woman who is on the path to becoming a Master of Wine, a prestigious title held by only about ten professionals in Canada. The wines displayed in the pages of Plaisirs will therefore have a dual purpose, she tells us: they will be “good to taste and good for the planet.”
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.