Robert Bell's
Wines of Canada
Since 1992
Eastern Township Wineries
The Eastern Townships is a tourist region and a former administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada, situated between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. The towns and villages of the Eastern Townships feature old-world charm thanks to architecture influenced by American, Loyalist, Scottish, and Irish founders. A commitment to gourmet food, culture, and the outdoors mark the rest of their history. Discover this mix of heritage and modernity through the remarkable characteristics of the Eastern Townships region, which are even more plentiful than its bountiful natural setting.
There is not much information on the early days of wine production in Quebec. In 1535 when Jacques Cartier sailed down the St. Lawrence River where he found wild grapes in abundance. The Jesuits followed Cartier to the new world bringing with them sacramental wine. They soon ran out and began producing wine of their own.
The developement of today's wineries in the Eastern Townships for over 45 years.
Vineyards of Domaine des Côtes d'ArdoiseDomaine des Côtes d'Ardoise is believed to have the oldest vineyard in Quebec, planting Riesling and Gamay in 1979. They are located in Dunham. Mr. Jacques Breault along with Christian Barthomeuf went to Ontario for cuttings and planted his first De Chaunac, Seyval blanc and Maréchal Foch vines at the Domaine.
In1982 the first bottling of 700 bottles was carried out in Quebec and it was sold illegally, because there was no permit to produce artisanal wine and even less a permit to sell it.
Domaine des Cotes d’Ardoise earned the first medal granted to a Québecois vineyard: the Seyval Carte d’Or 86 won the Gold Medal at Sélections Mondiales 1987
The winery hosts an exhibition of sculptures gathered from more than 80 artists. Visitors can picnic or enjoy light meals on site. Flowered paths allow visitors to circulate where are arranged several monumental sculptures, Nature & Creation.
The vineyard was sold to Mr. Jacques Papillon. He was the owner for 26 years and is considered a pioneer for the development of the vine in Quebec. During this period, 33,000 white and red plants were planted (hybrid and vinified plants including Gamay and Riesling).
Vignoble de L'Orpailleur
One of the best known of the Quebec Wineries. Québec's L'Orpailleur winery is located 50 miles (80 km) south of Montreal on Route 202 at Dunham, near Cowansville. They currently grow Seyval Blanc and Vidal. They planted their roots in 1982.
1996, L'Orpailleur was the first vineyard in Quebec to study and apply the principles of sustainable farming in viticulture.
The owners are Harvé Durand, Harles-Henri De Coussergues, Frank Furtado and Pierre Rodrigues . Together, they set roots in 1982 in the fertile soils of Dunham, birthplace of Québec viticulture.
Scieur Brothers -Cep d'Argent WineryCep d'Argent Winery the Eastern Townships most northern Winery located on the sloping hills between Magog and Sherbrooke. The vineyard began its operation in 1985 with the planting of 10,000 vines from a French hybrid stock called " Seyval blanc ".
After a series of research, studies and analyses on the soils and temperature of Quebec, a 114-acre piece of land on the western slope of the Appalachian plateau was purchased by brothers François and Jean-Paul Scieur. Everything was there: a gentle slope, a microclimate favourable to the development of the vines and Lake Magog which flows at 200 metres. The name of the vineyard is self-evident: the Cep for the relationship between the founders and the vines and the Argent for the silvery waters of Lake Magog.
In 1985, the first vines were planted, production began in 1987 and the doors opened to the public in 1988.
The vineyard has 114 acres, 60,000 vines, with a production of 125,000 bottles per year. Our white grape varieties are Seyval blanc, Vidal, Frontenac blanc and Frontenac gris while our red grape varieties include Frontenac Noir, Maréchal Foch, Sainte-Croix and Seyval Noir.
Vignoble de la Bauge first planted in 1989 ( some reports say 1987) on the farm belonging to Alcide and Ghislaine Naud which they had owned from 1951. Today Simon Naud along with his mother Ghislaine are the owner. It was in 1976 that Robert Naud (the eldest son), started the farm raising wild boars before adding the vineyard.
In 1996 they planted the vineyard under the guidance of Simon. Simon was elected a member of the board of directors of the Association des Vignerons du Québec in 1998, which became the CVQ, Conseil des Vins du Québec. He sat on the board for twenty beautiful years, the last four of which as first vice-president. With his fellow winemakers, he tried to develop and grow this flourishing industry through wine research, trade missions, and interventions with government decision-makers and various Quebec institutions.
les Trois Clocher it is believed the vineyards here were first planted in 1986, in what has been described as a very enchanting site. The winery is owned by Robert Brisebois and Nadége Mariam. They have 22 hectares of land.
It is named after the three churches that can be seen from the vineyard.
Gagliano Vineyards are situated on the hills of the Dunham valley, Le Vignoble Les Blancs Coteaux opened its doors in May 1989. On August 21st 2008, the Gagliano family acquired Le Vignoble Les Blancs Coteaux ( opened in 1989) and changed its name to “VIGNOBLE GAGLIANO VINEYARDS” to personalize its character.
The estate extends over approximately 35 hectares, but only part is cultivated with vines, with a total of approximately 43,000 vines planted during different periods starting from 1989 to 2016. There are plants for new plantings.
Clos Ste-Croix vineyard ,Located in the heart of the village of Dunham, on Principale Street, the Clos Ste-Croix vineyard , Located in the heart of the village of Dunham, on Principale Street, the Clos Ste-Croix vineyard extends over three hectares behind the remarkable Georgian-style residence. Since 1991, its owner has been growing various grape varieties including Maréchal Foch, Vidal, Seyval, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.extends over three hectares behind the remarkable Georgian-style residence. Since 1991, its owner has been growing various grape varieties including Maréchal Foch, Vidal, Seyval, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.
Domaine Ives Hill 1992
Domaine du Ridge 1996
Château Ste-Agnès 1997
Chemin de la Rivière winery 1998
Léon Courville's vineyard! 1999
Domaine Bresee 2001
l'Ardennais 2002
Clos Saragnat 2003
Val Caudalies 2005
Château de Cartes winery 2006
Vignoble Sugar-Hills 2006
Le Vignoble Du Ruisseau 2007
La Halte des Pèlerins 2008
Léon Courville's vineyard! 2008
Vignoble Bromont 2008Côte des Limousins winery 2009
Domaine Bergeville 2009
Union Libre Cidre 2010
Vignoble Le Di-Vin 2021
Vignoble Le Di-Vin 2021 vineyards planted in 2000
Although the Eastern Townships are often considered the heart of Quebec’s wine country and the birthplace of it’s winegrowing industry, the Conseil des vins du Québec currently outlines nine different winegrowing regions in Quebec – each defined by unique geological, climatic and terroir differences, and offering varied conditions for grape growing – and emerging regions continue to develop. *
Hybrid grape varieties continue to be the majority in Quebec vineyards (80 percent of grape varieties), but Vitis vinifera varieties are gaining ground, now representing 20 percent of the Quebec terroir (particularly in Quebec’s wine regions with milder climates). Notable vinifera varieties include chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot gris, chenin blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Gamay.
Overall, more than 80 grape varieties are found in Quebec with, in order of % of vine plantations in Quebec, the most popular being: Frontenac noir, Frontenac blanc, vidal, seyval blanc, marquette, chardonnay, Frontenac gris, pinot noir, St. Pepin, petite pearl, seyval noir, pinot gris, maréchal foch, and riesling.*
Today , Quebec boasts over 160 wineries, produces more than three million bottles annually and its vineyards represent eight percent of Canada’s total vineyard area.*
* Alana Lapierre -vineroutes
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Thank you for visiting our website. Wines of Canada was developed and designed by Robert (Bob) Bell of White Rock, British Columbia with the help of my wife Barbara in 1992. This is a personal website, we have no employees. .here is the story behind the website Support is welcome as are suggestions and comments; should you see something that needs to be corrected please let us know