This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
For the holidays, to accompany you from aperitif to dessert, the two sisters who own the gourmet boutique Les Minettes, in Laval, also passionate about local wines, have brought together some of their favorite vintages. Passing through Charlevoix, Île d’Orléans, Estrie, Montérégie and Lanaudière, they help you discover our beautiful Quebec vineyards thanks to these bottles to share with family, friends and other loved ones!
Traditional method 2022
Migneron family of Charlevoix
White sparkling wine
Grape varieties: Osceolat Muscat, Petite Perle, Radisson and Sainte-Croix
Alcohol content: 11.5%
Price: $40
What a beautiful, effervescent novelty from Baie-Saint-Paul, which comes just in time for the Holidays! Madeleine, Alexandre and Philippe have just launched their new Traditional Method 2022, resulting from a marriage of white (oscéolat muscat — one of our favorites!) and red (petite pearl, radisson and Sainte-Croix) grape varieties, inspired by a blanc de noir sparkling wine. Vinified according to the Champagne tradition, to the delight of the taste buds, it unfolds an elegant, straight and delicate bubble, with light vegetal notes which enhance the complexity. It is perfect to accompany a festive and gourmet aperitif, and we advise you not to enjoy it too cold and to do it in a wine glass for maximum emotion!
Smaller than 2022
Domaine Bergeville
Sparkling wine on lees
Grape varieties: 43% white Acadie, 30% white Frontenac, 25% Saint-Pépin, 2% Viniferas
Alcohol content: 10%
Price: $29.50
This sparkling wine from Domaine Bergeville, in the canton of Hatley, in Estrie, is one of our favorites. It is smaller than a natural brut type white sparkling wine (so no added sugar), made from a blend of white Acadia, white Frontenac, Saint-Pépin and Viniferas, and its refermentation is done on lees. Despite a rather cool 2022 season, maturity has fortunately been reached and, with its high acidity, this vintage embodies our beautiful Nordicness! We find ourselves in front of a bubble with a pretty straw yellow color, with notes of pineapple, pear and white flowers. On the palate, a beautiful acidity is wonderfully accompanied by the creamy and delicate effervescence of the vintage. This bottle is literally all-purpose, from aperitif to dessert including starter! Psitt… this vintage is also offered in magnum format, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on it. It will definitely steal the show during your festive evenings!
The White 2022
La Bauge vineyard
White wine
Grape variety: 100% white frontenac
Alcohol content: 11.5%
Price: $31
Ah, the beautiful juices from the Vignoble de la Bauge located in Brigham! We offer you its Le Blanc cuvée made from 100% white frontenac, where carbonic maceration in whole clusters for eight days was carried out, followed by aging in stainless steel vats. The result is a pretty white with a golden color that perfectly reflects the 2022 vintage (complex, fresh and full of challenges!). Carbonic maceration gives this wine ample and airy textures, where the bright fruit of the white Frontenac dominates, offering a beautiful invigorating, vibrant and crunchy juice! This is the perfect vintage to accompany a nice platter of charcuterie. For a perfect tasting, we advise you not to drink it too cold, so that the wine can express itself freely. Take it out about twenty minutes before tasting it, open the bottle and let the wine breathe.
Almost November 2022
Domaine Le Grand Saint-Charles
Orange wine
Grape varieties: 100% Vidal
Alcohol content: 9%
Price: $33
The Le Grand Saint-Charles estate, located in Saint-Paul-d’Abbotsford, has been part of our beautiful Quebec wine offering for more than 10 years. The owners focus on the quality of their wines rather than quantity, and this is reflected in the finesse and balance of what the vineyard produces! The winegrowers have just launched their 2022 vintage with no less than seven vintages, and among these, we chose Quasi Novembre, a maceration wine made from 100% Vidal. This grape variety being quite late, the harvest is done when the fruits are as ripe as possible, generally in the last days of October. This vintage therefore underwent a 21-day skin maceration, followed by fermentation in stainless steel vats, then was aged in old oak barrels for eight months. The result: a tasty orange wine, with a fairly expressive nose and mouth and where you can feel the maceration. Perfect to accompany fish, mushroom risotto or a comforting cheese fondue. Take the bottle out of the fridge 20 minutes before enjoying the wine.
Freshness of the River 2021
Lordship of Liret
Red wine
Grape varieties: Marquette and Baco Noir
Alcohol content: 11.5%
Price: $28.50
It was in 2011 that La Seigneurie de Liret planted its first vines on Île d’Orléans, and this little gem of a vineyard produces products that are among the best sparkling wines in Quebec using traditional methods. But today, it’s about his red wine that we’re talking to you, because this vintage is absolutely worth discovering. It comes from a blend of marquette and baco noir vinified using carbonic maceration (classic method for Beaujolais wines), a technique which brings out the fruit and gives texture to the wine. This is what makes this thirst-quenching wine particularly stand out with its fresh, fruity, light and slightly spicy side. To drink as an aperitif as with your tourtière or a festive stew!
Holy Spirit 2022
Masson-Villages
Red wine
Grape varieties: 52% marquette + 25% radisson + 23% frontenac gris
Alcohol content: 11.8%
Price: $30
Brothers Mathieu and Simon began their wine adventure by making wine in their homes in Rosemont, near Masson Street, in Montreal. Three years later, they have several small vintages under their belt (many of them natural sparkling wines, a type of wine they particularly like) and, in the spring of 2023, they planted pinot noir and chardonnay on one hectare of their new land, at Dunham. For the holidays, we offer you this new red vintage which has just appeared on the shelves of some grocery stores and which was an immediate favorite! Made from a blend of Marquette, Radisson and Frontenac Gris, this delicious thirst-quenching wine can be enjoyed without the slightest hesitation. We are faced with a red which has a little “pinot noir” side, accompanied by notes of plum core, a small touch of wood and a nice crunchy acidity brought by the frontenac gris. In the words of the Roy brothers, “it’s a bit as if a natural wine made from hybrid grape varieties and a classic pinot noir had made a baby.” This vintage will be the queen of your festive dinners and will undoubtedly make you discover what is beautiful and good in Quebec!
Where to find the vintages?
Visit the website of each producer to find out their points of sale. And don’t hesitate to check with grocery stores for availability before you travel.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.