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Montréal
Articles by Michael Fagin Meteorologist,
Travel Writer and Wine Enthusiast
Tourisme Montréal, Stéphan Poulin
Montreal sits at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers; two great rivers that have immensely influenced the history of Canada. The city also acts as a confluence of cultures, where Indigenous, English and French as well as scores of other ethnicities continue to contribute to the country's rich tapestry of people.
Arriving in Old Montreal ( Vieux-Montréal) at the Hôtel Gouverneur Place Dupuis, I quickly felt of all of these cultures converging, especially in regard to the architecture. The Notre-Dame Basilica takes its gothic revival style from England. Beside it on the Place d'Armes is the Saint-Sulpice Seminary, built in 1684, this French influenced structure is the oldest building in the city.
Gracing the Place d'Armes is a monument of Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, the father of Montreal. He came to Montreal Island in 1642 to establish a French settlement there initially named Ville-Marie . Chomedey de Maisonneuve overcame resistance from the Iroquois and was rewarded by his French overlords as the first governor of Montreal. The Iroquois had good reason to resist this settlement of course, for they had occupied the island for several thousand years. Prestigious McGill University sits on the site of their centuries old village Hochelaga.
Many historians believe that Hochelaga is derived from the Iroquois meaning “big rapids.” The Hochelega Archipelago sits at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers near the Lachine rapids. The Island of Montreal is the largest island in this Archipelago and forms the main portion of the City of Montreal. It is worth noting that the City of Montreal has jurisdiction over 74 smaller islands.
While winter storms bring a fair amount or snow to the region, the city usually copes well dealing with them. However in January of 1998 when the Great Ice Storm hit the Hochelega Archipelago, it destroyed much of the city's power grid. Over 120 mm (5 inches) of freezing rain fell upon the city from January 4 th to January 10 th . Ice storms like this occur due to the fact that Montreal sits at the convergence of two air masses. When warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico comes up from the south and clashes with cold arctic air masses moving down from the north, these tragic ice storms can occur.
Montreal's climate, quite unlike that of France's Provence Region still allows for the production of some fine wines thanks to the confluence of ideas from some enterprising vintners; notably French born winemakers, Christian Barthomeuf (proprietor of le Clos Saragnat Vineyard) and Jean-Christophe Hirsch of Vignoble La Mission, who both emigrated to Quebec. These two men are producing excellent wines (and ice ciders) in the Eastern Townships, just an hour east of Montreal. And you'll need to venture there away from the big city if you wish to sample some of these wines. Government regulations are such that there is not a smooth flow of these wines and ciders from the townships to Montreal. But a trip to the quaint and picturesque Eastern Townships is never a hardship. In fact, it's yet another area of great confluence, where French, Irish, and Scottish cultures collide and delicious and satisfying wines are cultivated to flow freely into your glass.
Additional Articles by Michael Fagin Quebec, Icewine Eastern Townships
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