New microbreweries, vineyards, distilleries and cider houses are springing up this year in the Eastern Townships. They are adding more alcoholic offerings yet to this region in south-eastern Quebec, Canada.
Falstaff shows some of the new flavours you might want to explore at The Eastern Townships.
This summer, several new vineyards are ready to welcome tourists and wine connoisseurs: Domaine Girouard in Sutton, for example, which employs traditional and modern methods of making wine, is offering tastings at its on-site boutique.
At the Vignoble la Manse winery in Roxton Pond, wine lovers can stroll around the vineyards, ponds and relaxation areas along the beautiful 2.5-km Sentier des Érables walking trail. Our tip: Sipping a glass of wine on the shore of a stretch of water is a beautiful way to unwind.
Domaine ValBrome (Lac-Brome) is offering visitors the opportunity to pick their own grapes, and all the winery's products are available onsite.
And the Vignoble Les Farfelus in Melbourne (region of Val-Saint-François) produces fortified white, red and rosé wines.
The Domaine Dumont Chapelle Ste-Agnès winery was sold this spring, with the new owners renaming it Château Ste-Agnès. There will be on-site activities, a boutique and the usual wine tastings. Gourmet food will also be on offer by a chef who can prepare anything from a four-course country-style meal to a luxury picnic, just two of the many options available to visitors.
Many types of beverages are on offer at the new Distillerie du Granit in Saint-Romain in the Megantic region. It is owned and managed by a group of enthusiasts who base their alcoholic concoctions on pure maple syrup from Saint-Romain.
Ferme Cidrile Équinoxe in Farnham, is the first apple orchard-cum-cider maker in Quebec to employ sustainable techniques to manage its farm. Visitors can choose seven different craft ciders and enjoy a tasting, guided tours of the orchard and the cider-making area, and picnic baskets filled with products from three local restaurants. And they can also pick their apples and fruit from 3,500 organically-grown trees.
“Le Brasseur Fou” is located within Hotel Sawyerville, a historic building in Cookshire-Eaton, in the Haut-Saint-François region. It is one of two new microbreweries that are part of the Brasseurs de Cantons, a network of Township breweries. Another member of this network is L'Ardoise, a recently established microbrewery and work cooperative in Richmond.
Tastings, country-style meals, a boutique selling gourmet produce and guided tours are just some of the attractions at Vignoble La Vallée des nuages, a site of 8,000 vines and some 100 fruit trees. Children will be delighted when seeing the variety of domestic and farm animals, such as rabbits, ducks, geese, quails, partridges, hens, pigs, calves, cows and horses.
At the Distillerie de la Chaufferie in Granby, visitors can learn about “circular agriculture” (farming with nature) by talking to the beverage makers and visiting the production site. A cocktail tasting session using local ingredients rounds off the tour of the premises.
Currently showing in the Sherbrooke History Museum (until 23 October) is an exhibition entitled “À la votre!”. This exhibition documents the evolution of “booze”, covering the production of alcohol in Quebec during the past 150 years.
The Eastern Townships area is the fourth most popular tourist destination in Quebec. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border. The region attracts some 10 million visitors annually, accounting for 6.5 million overnight stays, with a visitor spending more than $900 million annually. The tourism sector is also the region's fourth largest employer, accounting for 20,000 jobs.
