The couple who vinified trees

A good sugaring season has just ended in the forest of Saint-Paulin, in Mauricie. However, in the maple grove of Patrice Plouffe and Clara Bonnes, what is most celebrated is the bottling of the first maple syrup wines produced in the region and intended for sale. A dream that had been fermenting for several years…

Professor of administration at the Collège de Maisonneuve in Montreal, Patrice Plouffe had never tapped maple trees, with the exception of the one near his house on rue Christophe-Colomb. Until the day he acquired La ferme du loup, a century-old maple grove with 12,000 taps. It was in 2005.

“I’ve always had a bit of an entrepreneurial side. After doing an MBA at HEC Montréal, I was looking for a project. I saw a photo of the maple grove for sale on the Internet, and it made me dream. In two weeks, I bought the land. It was a bit crazy! he says, laughing.

From the first pour, he had the reflex to explore the possibilities offered by maple sap and to ferment it. Already an amateur winemaker thanks to “grapes from the Italians of Montreal-North”, he saw in this first maple syrup wine — also called Sével — the many possibilities offered by maple trees. Year after year, part of the harvest was used to produce this wine for personal consumption and to improve the recipe for what was to become a sweet and amber alcohol, slightly maderized. When family and friends began to appreciate it, that’s when the dream of making it a commercial project became concrete, says Mr. Plouffe. Four years later, nearly 1,000 bottles of this sevel will be marketed this summer. ” I’m having a lot of fun. Some people play golf, I make wine! »

Following trends, the Plouffe-Bonnes couple also developed Petnat — for natural sparkling wine — following the ancestral method. This dry artisanal sparkling wine, without sulfites and without inputs, is made from maple sap, yeast, fruits and wildflowers from the region, continues Patrice Plouffe.

“We finish the fermentation in the bottle to create and trap the carbon dioxide. It is very simple. And people like it very much. »

Show the other side of the maple

What Patrice Plouffe likes, for his part, is to “show the other side of the maple”, the one “that we don’t pour on the pancakes”, and to dive into the richness of the forest terroir of the Mauricie. . “I am concocting a recipe for vermouth, a bitter sevel with local herbs: Labrador tea, bayberry, rhubarb. These are things that everyone has in the area, and it’s very interesting to explore. I dreamed about it all last night! »

Already recognized for its forest maple syrups infused with chaga or conifers, La ferme du loup wants to highlight local flavors, an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Patrice Plouffe cites the Danish restaurant Noma, renowned for its reinterpretation of Nordic cuisine, as a model. “Reflecting our territory, it pushed me to follow my instinct and to highlight what we have. That’s always what I’m looking for: what’s the best you can do with maple syrup? As with wine, can the different terroirs be recognized? »

These questions feed many projects, including the development of a sake. For the creator, there are no limits. He crosses his fingers to see his products make their way to refreshments, bars and restaurants, true ambassadors who popularize maple syrup drinks and make them accessible. Above all, he feels that Quebecers are ready to discover and open to a diversity of products. “Maple is in our veins. »

The first cases of Sével and Petnat will go on sale by the summer, notably at La Boîte à vin and the Marché des Saveurs du Québec in Montreal.

The restaurateurs take to the table

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