New winery in Pontiac, Qc gets ready for first commercial harvest

Niagara is well-established. The Okanagan Valley is gaining steam. Prince Edward County and Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley are notable upstarts.

But what about the Gatineau Hills?

In less than an hour and a half on a sunny Saturday, June 6, a group of 50 volunteers crossed Hwy 148 near Luskville and planted 2,500 vines at Lavender Ridge, laying the seeds for what owners Joanne Labadie and Doug Briden hope will be the first commercial wine harvest for Lavender Ridge.

“We had 5,000 planted prior to today,” Briden said, admiring the morning’s work as his help was already tasting the fruits of their labour – or something similar – across the highway.

The Quebec liquor board requires vineyards to have 7,500 vines planted to qualify for a license, Briden said.

“They also want a business plan and a cheque,” said Briden, who intends to provide both – as well as a new building – and be ready for business in September.

Sebastien Vicaire, a native of Bordeaux, France who worked on the Chateaux Monbrisson vineyard there for three years, is looking to buy land in the region.

He said a Universite de Quebec a Montreal study showed the region’s combination of the hills, the river and the effect of subterranean water provide ideal vinicultural conditions.

“Soon it will be the next Napa,” he said. “Not Niagara – Napa.”

Vicaire, who consults for wineries near Saint-Eustache – including La Tourelle, which won him a national gold medal – has already been growing in Pontiac. He thinks the combination of agriculture and wine could make it a desirable tourist destination.

Sylvain Turgeon, who owns a neighbouring farm that boasts Quebec’s only water buffalo, plans to get in on the action next season. Labadie is working on developing a coop to unite would-be winemakers and promote a national capital wine route together, rather than competing amongst each other.

Labadie and Briden bought the property in 2005.

“The first day we walked the property with the agent, Doug said, ‘You know what I see growing here? Grapes,’” Labadie said.

At the time they didn’t even know if it could be done but within two weeks they had consulted Alain Breault, who Labadie calls the national guru on cold-climate wines, and purchased the land. Labadie quickly enrolled in Algonquin College’s sommelier course and never looked back.

They have been hosting the planting and tasting event for a few years now, but this one holds special importance as their first commercial harvest nears. The 2,500 vines planted Saturday were Frontenac reds and whites.

Pontiac MP and foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon even chipped in by planting a vine.

“It’s kind of the flip-side of a vendages, where we celebrate the planting,” Labadie said. “It’s better than hiring a bunch of monosyllable-grunting teens.”

Labadie served wine from an old wagon on the lawn – various cold climate varieties from Quebec – while volunteers mingled, drank and ate barbequed hot dogs and elk burgers.

“God, isn’t this fun,” Briden said as he offered samples of his pre-barrelled port from a large jug. He wore a t-shirt that read, “Wine is cheaper than therapy.”

If the fall harvest goes as scheduled, Lavender Ridge would be the first commercial vineyard in the region, an honour that Labadie meets with an indifferent shrug.

“We might be the first winery in Pontiac but we definitely won’t be the last, and that’s the important thing.”

Tagged as: news, Pontiac, Quebec, Wine