Quebec (wine)
| Wine region | |
| Official name | Québec |
|---|---|
| Type | Canadian province |
| Year established | 1867 |
| Years of wine industry | 1970s (grapes grown since 1608) |
| Country | Canada |
| Sub-regions | Basses Laurentides, Lanaudière, Québec, Montérégie, Eastern Townships, Centre-du-Québec |
| Total area | 1,542,056 km² |
| Size of planted vineyards | 249,3 ha |
| Varietals produced | white: Adalmiina, Cayuga, Chardonnay, Delisle, Eona, Geisenheim, Hibernal, Kay Gray, Muscat, New York Muscat, Prairie Star, Riesling, Saint-Pépin, Seyval blanc, Vandal-Cliche, Vidal Red: Baco noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon Severnyi, Chambaudière, Chambourcin, Chancellor, De Chaunac, Frontenac, Gamay, Landal noir, Landot noir, Léon-Millot, Lucie Kuhlmann, Maréchal Foch, Merlot, Mitchurinetz, Pinot noir, Pionnier, Radisson, Sabrevois, Sainte-Croix, Seyval noir |
| No. of wineries | 49 |
| Wine produced | 234 |
Quebec wine is Canadian wine made in the province of Quebec. The grape varieties grown in Quebec, both white and red, all have common qualities needed by the harshness of the winter season, including resistance to winter temperatures, resistance to spring freezes and being early ripening. Some 40 varieties are grown in Quebec, with the most commonly planted being Maréchal Foch, Frontenac, De Chaunac, Vidal and Seyval blanc.
Quebec wine makers have developed a large array of products including dry, semi-dry and fortified wines (including Vin doux naturel styles). Additionally the region produces ice wines, late harvest wines, sparkling wines and fruit wines.
Quebec counts six regions where vines are cultivated. They are the Eastern Townships, Montérégie, Québec, Basses Laurentides, Lanaudière, and Centre-du-Québec.
When French explorer Jacques Cartier sailed the St. Lawrence River, he noted the presence of wild grapes (Vitis riparia) on Île d'Orléans and for this reason named it Île de Bacchus, in honour of the Roman God of wine and drunkenness. In 1608, when Samuel de Champlain settled the site where Quebec City would later flourish, he planted French vines (Vitis vinifera) and discovered that they did not resist the winter very well. Small productions were nonetheless tried here and there over the years and in the 18th century, the inhabitants of the French colony were in the habit of making wine out of the wild grapes and other fruits. While the production remained small, the import of wine bottles from France was quite important (775,166 bottles in 1739 for an above-15 population of only 24 260 persons).
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