Beauchemin vineyard | Dreaming up your wine… in Quebec

Liudmila Terzi has been importing wine for several years, but the businesswoman, originally from Moldova, dreamed of producing it. She looked for a vineyard in Europe for a long time, but her choice fell on a completely different region: Quebec. She and her husband have just bought the Beauchemin vineyard, in Mauricie, and they have big ambitions.

Even in the middle of winter, Liudmila Terzi leaves the South Shore of Montreal every morning to go to her vineyards in Yamachiche. “We put on our snowshoes and toured the vineyard,” says the new winemaker. We make sure that everything is well protected while waiting for spring. »

Liudmila Terzi grew up surrounded by vineyards in Moldova. Her family, like most of the others in the village of Gotești where she grew up in the south of the country, owns a small plot of one hectare. The harvest, vinification and tasting, she knows. Thus, when the young woman arrived in Quebec in 2009, she quickly missed the taste of Moldovan wine, produced with local grape varieties.

Engineer by training, M^me Terzi founded his import agency named Les Filles du Vigneron in 2018 to market Moldovan wine in the province. However, the businesswoman also wanted to produce it.

His research was initially concentrated in his native country. “Quebec’s climate scared me,” she says. In Moldova, the vines do not suffer from the cold like here. We don’t need to cover them either. »

However, the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine hampered the project to buy a vineyard on the other side of the Atlantic.

As was the case for many Quebecers, the downtime imposed by the pandemic allowed him to discover local wines. Her interest led her to work in the vineyards of La Bauge, in Brigham, as well as at the Domaine du Fleuve, in Varennes. These experiences made him change his mind about the wine potential here.

“I realized that we need to be there for the project to work,” says Liudmila Terzi. With the distance, I would have worked to fulfill someone else’s dream. »

think big

The new winemaker observes the white wine swirling in her glass with excitement. Although she and her husband have officially owned the Beauchemin vineyard since December, Liudmila Terzi participated in the production of the 2022 cuvées. This blend of Frontenac Blanc, Louise Swenson, Osceola Muscat and Vidal is the fruit of her work.

However, this precipitation falls as rain once summer returns and increases the risk of disease in the vineyard. As the estate is in conversion to organic farming, the means to treat are more limited. However, the winemaker is not discouraged. She even plans to add two new plots to the vineyard founded in 2010 in the spring.

The Beauchemin vineyard was not open to the public, but the situation will change next summer. Agricultural buildings that were in poor condition will be renovated. The businesswoman intends to take advantage of the proximity to Chemin du Roy and Highway 40 to attract wine lovers.

“We work so hard, we want to share it with people and give them a great experience. »

While contemplating the Chardonnay and Vidal vines sleeping under the snow, the winegrower does not forget her roots. She is working to have Saperavi, a Georgian grape variety widely grown in Moldova, and Codrinschi, a cross of Cabernet Sauvignon and Rara Neagra, be allowed in Canada. She will thus be able to add a Moldavian touch to Quebec wine.

Red from here

The founder of the vineyard, Luc Beauchemin, accumulated a solid experience in the field of wine before starting his vineyard in 2010. After three years in the bottle, his 2020 red, a blend of hybrid grape varieties, radisson, chambourcin, marquette and frontenac noir , is still good. Notes of blackberries and cherries are inviting. The attack is supple and the acidity is balanced. The spicy finish is long and juicy. Perfect for fondue.

Vignoble Beauchemin red wine 2020, $19.25

great chardonnay

It was while tasting Luc Beauchemin’s Chardonnay that Liudmila Terzi saw the potential of the vineyard. The vines are not even 10 years old yet, but the quality of the wine is already there. And the 2021 vintage is even better! The summer was hot and it shows. Pear and floral scents fill the glass. The texture is subtly creamy and the saline attack brings a lot of length.

Vineyard Beauchemin Chardonnay 2021, $36

Points of sale: William J. Walter in Quebec City (Saint-Roch), La Boîte à vins, IGA Express Rosemère, Le Vinologue. In some restaurants: L’Imposteur, Maison Boulud, Liège wine bar.