Quebec wines | The more timid 2022 vintage

The years follow one another, but are not alike in the Quebec vineyard. After the 2021 harvest, which was described as exceptional both for the quality and the quantity of the grapes, wine production will be down this year.

Karyne Duplessis Piche
special collaboration

The producer of the Vignoble de la Bauge in Brigham, Simon Naud, is unequivocal: the 2022 harvest promises to be less grandiose than the two previous ones.

“We have a year of challenges. We had a lot of rain and less heat,” explained Mr. Naud during an activity held at Domaine du Rivière on August 29, which was attended by some sixty winegrowers from Quebec.

In some areas of the province, winemakers claim to have recorded twice as much rain in the months of May and June as all of the summer precipitation received last year.

This gray weather did not favor an early ripening of the grapes, also observes the agronomist Gaëlle Dubé. Thus, the harvest will take place towards the end of September and could stretch until Thanksgiving, if the weather is nice. Despite the rainy weather, the expert observes few diseases. Good news for the quality of the harvest to come.

According to winemaker Normand Guénette, owner of the Chat Botté vineyard in Hemmingford, the 2022 harvest will be normal.

Severe cold

Researcher Andréanne Hébert-Haché, a specialist in winter resistance in vines, says that it was not the rain that harmed the future harvest the most, but rather the intense winter frost.

The mercury plunged to -30°C in some areas in January. A priori, nothing abnormal for the Quebec climate. What is exceptional is that there was little snow on the ground to protect the plants. Thus, the extreme temperatures have damaged future buds and mortgaged the 2022 harvest.

“We see that the hybrid grape varieties are adapted to our climate, she says, because there are fruits on the vines despite everything. »

As for the so-called European grape varieties, of the species vitis vinifera, they are protected under a geotextile fabric to face the winter. However, this protection has not been completely effective this year, underlines Gaëlle Dubé.

“The web has its limits,” she says. If it is -35°C outside, under the canvas, it will be 10°C warmer, so -25°C. It won’t be enough for a vine vitis vinifera. »

The agronomist notes that many winegrowers cultivate both species. In this way, they spread the risks better.

Winemaker for almost 30 years in Havelock, at the Marathonien vineyard, Jean Joly wants to be reassuring. He argues that if there is less fruit on the vines overall, the grapes will be more concentrated in flavor and ripen faster.

Concerns

During the meeting of winegrowers who are members of the Conseil des Vins du Québec (CVQ), the discussions focused more on the settlement of the complaint that Australia had filed in 2018 before the World Trade Organization than on the harvest. coming. Indeed, Australia claimed that Canada favored local producers by allowing them to sell directly to grocery stores without imposing additional costs, as is the case when they sell to the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ).

The two countries finally reached an agreement last year.

Quebec winegrowers can continue to sell in grocery stores without going through the SAQ, but they will have to, from 1^er December 2023, pay a royalty of more than 40% on the value invoiced to the merchant.

“It’s a hard blow,” bluntly asserts the president of the CVQ, Louis Denault.

The Île d’Orléans winemaker is working hard to find a way to absorb this new tax without increasing the cost of wines in grocery stores or threatening the young wine industry in Quebec.

Louis Denault is also trying to convince the Quebec government to change another rule: the transportation of wine. According to the law in force, the winemaker is the only one who can deliver his wines to the grocery store. Neither another winemaker nor a carrier company can do this.

According to the president of the CVQ, a change in the law would allow Quebec wines to be more available in the regions, since many producers do not deliver to grocery stores that are too far from the vineyards.