September 8th Day Nine: Off To The Laurentians!!!!!!
Good-bye Eastern Townships and Auberge & Spa!
Breakfast was good and as usual the staff quite helpful. We befriended Kim Whittier who always had great suggestions and in addition was very attractive---intelligent, charming and good looking----some guy is very lucky!!! This made our stay much more pleasant but it made it also very difficult to say good-bye!
The two and a half hour drive to the Laurentians took us through Montreal and then north. We did not have a problem getting there but one thing----our GPS drove us crazy! "Turn right in 800 Metres!" the female voice would say! "Turn Right!" It would come on again. "Turn Left, then right and then left! Turn now!!!" It usually was accurate but being told what to do by a machine on a continual basis did have its drawbacks.
We arrived at our first destination Aux Cassis D'Argenteuil early and were met by Paul Hebert. Paul was a very nice person who had great pride in his establishment. In 1995 he purchased 32 acres and planted it with various forms of grain on a rotating basis to give the land back some nutrients. His first planting of Black Currants took place in 2002 with disease resistant plants.
Black Currants
Black Currants are a very hardy type of plant indigenous to the the Northern Hemisphere. They have a great many health aspects such as having a very high vitamin C content plus many Omega 3 fatty acids. Their anti-oxidant level is also quite high. Being hardy, they grow quite well in the cold climate of Quebec.
We were invited in to taste some of the products and what we tasted was quite good. His first product was called "Ruby". The sweet wine was quite tasty and an excellent accompaniment to things such as pate, cheeses and foie gras. I was also under the feeling that it would go well with fruit such as figs etc. The "Rastel"reminded me of Port in a distant way and it should since it, like Port was a fortified wine where alcohol is added to stop fermentation. Again it was a nice wine with aged cheeses and chocolate. Again sweet fruit also was on the menu. "Creme de Cassis" was excellent also and a match for such things as ice cream, cake, waffles etc. It could also be matched with fruit and other drinks.
Other products such as Jelly, Chocolates and Gift Baskets.
At that time our guide and tourist representative, Pierre Bessette came to meet us. Looking very athletic the good looking fellow was charming and I knew that we would get along well during our stay. After our visit to the winery we went to town and ate lunch at a Thai Restaurant.
Then it was off to Vignoble Des Negondos where we met with Carol Desrochers, a very attractive winemaker/owner who although shy in appearing in front of the camera, did a great job talking about her wines. She did the interview in French and was articulate that it was no problem of understanding what she was talking about.
The winery was started in 1993 with her partner Mario Plante. The vineyard had about 10,000 vines in gravelly limestone rock soil. The winery was certified organic and produced a group of eight wines. Wines are made from Seyval Blanc, Chambaudiere, Cayuga, Geisenheim, Vidal, St. Croix, Marechal Foch, Frontenac, Marquette, Baco Noir, Dechaunac and a unique grape called Kay Gray which was developed by a grape breeder called Elmer Swenson in the 1980's. The plant is female and requires a pollen source. It is exceptionally hardy.
The wines from dry white to dry red were all superb but our favourites where The Rosois a rose wine that would go especially well with appetizers, salmon, cold cuts and pork loin, the Suroit which would go very well with red meat, spicy Italian and cheese and the the Chesnaie which I would like to try with game, duck and/or lamb. For a dessert the port type wine called Nirvana would go great with dark chocolate, figs or soft cheese such as Brie.
We interviewed Mario Plante who came in during the discussion and then we were on our way. Great people all round.
Pierre suggested that we try a garden exhibit called Angelica where Lucilia Albernaz met us for a tour. This non profit venture was the initiative of a group of 16 professionals who purchases 94 acres which blended a group of theme gardens: One was something that reminded me of an English Country Garden reminiscent of a walk in the country. This led into a Fairy Garden which allowed one to dream and go back to his/her childhood with ideas of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell----at least that was what I thought of. The Pavilion Observation deck was a rest place where one could listen to the music and/or sounds of children piped in or just look out on the garden items themselves. The Discovery Garden was full of shapes and other art.
Soon we were in the Bird Garden which had numerous birds attracted by the many berries planted especially to attract them. Another one was similar to some of the formal gardens seen in Versailles or Austria with the shaped bushes and lovely plants. The Grass and Rose Gardens followed and were pretty well self explanatory with their various varieties of superb items.
My favourite was the Zen Garden complete with waterfalls, ponds and statues of Buddha which served to recharge one's energy after a hard day at work. The final item on the tour was another English Garden dedicated to the young adults from Mirabel in 2009.
Other activities were the availability of flowers to be cut and taken home as well as Children's Garden, a new berry picking area, wedding planning and execution, corporate parties and much more.
While this place was not on our itinerary, it is a place that should be visited if you are in the area. Look them up at www.gerbesdangelica.com .
Breakfast was good and as usual the staff quite helpful. We befriended Kim Whittier who always had great suggestions and in addition was very attractive---intelligent, charming and good looking----some guy is very lucky!!! This made our stay much more pleasant but it made it also very difficult to say good-bye!
The two and a half hour drive to the Laurentians took us through Montreal and then north. We did not have a problem getting there but one thing----our GPS drove us crazy! "Turn right in 800 Metres!" the female voice would say! "Turn Right!" It would come on again. "Turn Left, then right and then left! Turn now!!!" It usually was accurate but being told what to do by a machine on a continual basis did have its drawbacks.
We arrived at our first destination Aux Cassis D'Argenteuil early and were met by Paul Hebert. Paul was a very nice person who had great pride in his establishment. In 1995 he purchased 32 acres and planted it with various forms of grain on a rotating basis to give the land back some nutrients. His first planting of Black Currants took place in 2002 with disease resistant plants.
Black Currants
Black Currants are a very hardy type of plant indigenous to the the Northern Hemisphere. They have a great many health aspects such as having a very high vitamin C content plus many Omega 3 fatty acids. Their anti-oxidant level is also quite high. Being hardy, they grow quite well in the cold climate of Quebec.
We were invited in to taste some of the products and what we tasted was quite good. His first product was called "Ruby". The sweet wine was quite tasty and an excellent accompaniment to things such as pate, cheeses and foie gras. I was also under the feeling that it would go well with fruit such as figs etc. The "Rastel"reminded me of Port in a distant way and it should since it, like Port was a fortified wine where alcohol is added to stop fermentation. Again it was a nice wine with aged cheeses and chocolate. Again sweet fruit also was on the menu. "Creme de Cassis" was excellent also and a match for such things as ice cream, cake, waffles etc. It could also be matched with fruit and other drinks.
Other products such as Jelly, Chocolates and Gift Baskets.
At that time our guide and tourist representative, Pierre Bessette came to meet us. Looking very athletic the good looking fellow was charming and I knew that we would get along well during our stay. After our visit to the winery we went to town and ate lunch at a Thai Restaurant.
Then it was off to Vignoble Des Negondos where we met with Carol Desrochers, a very attractive winemaker/owner who although shy in appearing in front of the camera, did a great job talking about her wines. She did the interview in French and was articulate that it was no problem of understanding what she was talking about.
The winery was started in 1993 with her partner Mario Plante. The vineyard had about 10,000 vines in gravelly limestone rock soil. The winery was certified organic and produced a group of eight wines. Wines are made from Seyval Blanc, Chambaudiere, Cayuga, Geisenheim, Vidal, St. Croix, Marechal Foch, Frontenac, Marquette, Baco Noir, Dechaunac and a unique grape called Kay Gray which was developed by a grape breeder called Elmer Swenson in the 1980's. The plant is female and requires a pollen source. It is exceptionally hardy.
The wines from dry white to dry red were all superb but our favourites where The Rosois a rose wine that would go especially well with appetizers, salmon, cold cuts and pork loin, the Suroit which would go very well with red meat, spicy Italian and cheese and the the Chesnaie which I would like to try with game, duck and/or lamb. For a dessert the port type wine called Nirvana would go great with dark chocolate, figs or soft cheese such as Brie.
We interviewed Mario Plante who came in during the discussion and then we were on our way. Great people all round.
Pierre suggested that we try a garden exhibit called Angelica where Lucilia Albernaz met us for a tour. This non profit venture was the initiative of a group of 16 professionals who purchases 94 acres which blended a group of theme gardens: One was something that reminded me of an English Country Garden reminiscent of a walk in the country. This led into a Fairy Garden which allowed one to dream and go back to his/her childhood with ideas of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell----at least that was what I thought of. The Pavilion Observation deck was a rest place where one could listen to the music and/or sounds of children piped in or just look out on the garden items themselves. The Discovery Garden was full of shapes and other art.
Soon we were in the Bird Garden which had numerous birds attracted by the many berries planted especially to attract them. Another one was similar to some of the formal gardens seen in Versailles or Austria with the shaped bushes and lovely plants. The Grass and Rose Gardens followed and were pretty well self explanatory with their various varieties of superb items.
My favourite was the Zen Garden complete with waterfalls, ponds and statues of Buddha which served to recharge one's energy after a hard day at work. The final item on the tour was another English Garden dedicated to the young adults from Mirabel in 2009.
Other activities were the availability of flowers to be cut and taken home as well as Children's Garden, a new berry picking area, wedding planning and execution, corporate parties and much more.
While this place was not on our itinerary, it is a place that should be visited if you are in the area. Look them up at www.gerbesdangelica.com .
Gite La Capucine
This was our last hotel and place of rest until we were due to leave for Toronto. It was a Bed and Breakfast operated by Julie and Acide in an English style manor house at a little town called St-Placide. The place was clean and well decorated in period (19th Century) work and had spacious rooms with very comfortable beds. The reputation of the food is what brought the folks from all over to stay. Julie is a chef that worked with some of the best chefs in the area and her meals are to absolutely die for without question. You must make reservations for dinner but it would be more than worth it----take my personal guarantee.
We were in for a very interesting stay. Our hosts were the greatest.
End of Day Nine
posted by Chuck Byers - Wine Consultant | 5:06 AM
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