Beautiful bottles from here | The Press

Grocery stores and beer convenience stores are overflowing with beautiful Quebec products just before Christmas: first wines from the Polisson estate (known for its ciders), Joy Hill magnums, numerous cuvées from the Fragments vineyard, new juices from Clos de cigales, Atoca beer from the brewery Robin, beetroot cider from the Chemin des Sept and so on! Here are four bottles to drink in good company or to offer.

For an aperitif or an impromptu visit

Here is a curiosity that you will want to keep cool for those impromptu holiday visits, those afternoons when you want to “chirp” with family or friends, but preserving your liver a little with a low-alcohol drink. . Cidre Sauvageon has just launched Métropolis, a drink produced with the collaboration of Montrealers and the organization Les fruitsDefends, which allowed the small team to glean apples, crabapples, grapes, Saskatoons, raspberries and pears in urban gardens. The idea of ​​this cuvée is to enhance the “fruit” potential of the island and to use fruits that would otherwise be lost. Grapes, saskatoon berries and raspberries are macerated for two weeks in apple and pear must before pressing. They bring a slightly more complex fruitiness and acidity to the apple. The cider house is one of the few to be located in an urban environment, on the premises of the Centrale agricole, in Ahuntsic-Cartierville. The points of sale for Sauvageon ciders can be found on the company’s site. About 1000 bottles of this flavored cider were produced.

At table

Quebec wine connoisseurs are snapping up this cuvée. Released a few weeks ago, it is already out of stock at the estate, but there are a few left in some grocery stores and at some wine retailers like Menu Extra and Miels d’Anicet, where you will pay a little more for it. A little tip: the Les Minettes boutique in Sainte-Rose has an exceptional selection of local products that sell a little slower than in the heart of the city. You can even order on their website. There are also a few crates left at Pascal the butcher. As for our Entêtés, it seems that they didn’t give winemaker Mathieu Beauchemin too many headaches in this vintage! Many say that 2021 is one of the best wine years that Quebec has known. The good weather continued until October, allowing the grapes to reach full maturity. Pinot Noir (planted in 2013) expresses itself with delicacy, with a perfect marriage of small red fruits and subtle spices. On our side, we would put it in the cellar for several months, even a year or two. Most Quebec wines benefit from a little patience.

For the party

Very precious blood, it is the vineyard of Vincent Laniel (alias @vincentsulfite on Instagram), Laurence Véri and Félix Poirier, established in Bécancour. The first vintage of the trio was launched in September, with very small quantities of bottles (about 4000) which were mainly distributed in restaurants. And to mark the birth of a new Quebec label, there is this very precious bottle blown by Verre d’Onge. The magnum (1.5 litres) like no other is filled with an exclusive cuvée of marquette in carbonic maceration. There are only 130 of these collectible bottles. Knowing that a Verre d’Onge vase about 20 cm high costs a minimum of $215, the $235 requested for the frosted glass container filled with wine is not excessive. We can’t tell you about the liquid, but for having tasted the very good vintage Trees on Their Knees from Very Precious Blood, we have confidence. A few restaurants have bought magnums and are selling them with a very small margin. So it’s possible to go drink it with friends (and argue over who will leave with the bottle) at vinvinvin, at the air-conditioned room, at Candide, at Coureur des bois, at Pichai and at l’Hélicoptère. Otherwise, just order directly on the domain’s website.

liquid dessert

Christian Barthomeuf was awarded the Order of Canada in November. It is for having invented ice cider, more than 30 years ago, that the founder of Clos Saragnat received this distinction. It makes you want to toast your health. And to do this, we are spoiled for choice, with the many cuvées of dry, still, effervescent, bitter cider, etc., produced by Christian and his wife Louise, in Frelighsburg. But let’s opt for an ice cider, one of the Sol Hors d’Age, from the solera method. This exceptional product comes from a 2600 liter vat from which approximately 250 liters are taken each year (replaced by the same quantity from the last vintage) which are then left outside, in demijohns, for a whole year. The bottled product is bulletproof, fearing neither hot nor cold. It is eaten around 16 degrees and can be kept in its bottle at room temperature. For a change, if not, look for the Carvi cuvée, developed in collaboration with Qv for the agency’s 15th anniversary. It is sold in a few shops, such as Veux-tu une beer and Les Minettes. It is a maceration of caraway seeds from Bas-du-Fleuve in an ice cider.