Why Outaouais should be your next weekend destination

Take a one-hour drive from Ottawa into the Outaouais and you’ll come to the municipality of Pontiac, Que. It’s a destination that was new to me but what an eye-opening experience it was to discover a region so steeped in history. It’s a region with a burgeoning wine industry, artisanal food producers, a community theatre in a historic dance hall and a largely English-speaking village that has more churches per capita than any other place in Quebec.

Touring with Adventure Outaouais

Aventure Outaouais tour owner/operator Brandon Bolduc is a talented individual. He is not only a terrifically affable and knowledgeable tour guide, he understood early on this business venture needed to throw a spotlight on what he deemed to be an underappreciated destination. He was absolutely right, and for me, his tour represents a local highlight in 2022.

The tour is offered in both French and English and irrespective of language preference, we were all made to feel very comfortable and included. In fact, the feeling of camaraderie that was generated, was nothing less than a happy bonus of this seven-plus-hour tour.

Brandon offers a good selection of pick-up/drop-off locations in both Ottawa and Gatineau and his 12-seater tour bus is clean, comfortable, and kitted out with complimentary snacks for your munching pleasure. Our first stop was at the winery Domaine de Pontiac Village, in the village of Quyon. It’s run by Maude-Emmanuelle and Pavel Khol, the wife and husband who are the creative team behind the wines and curators of the amusing on-site antique car museum.

Domaine de Pontiac Village winery

When experiencing and assessing the wines of Quebec, it’s important to understand these are made from grape varietals you won’t see at your local LCBO. Quebec is a colder climate region and therefore cold-tolerant hybrids are used. For wine lovers this means we have a new learning curve to discover. Most of the work being done on such hybrids comes from the renowned University of Minnesota where so many of the grapes grown in Quebec were first developed.

Before giving us a tour of the vineyard, Maude poured our group a white wine blend of St. Pepin, Frontenac gris, Seyval Blanc and Prairie Star followed by a rosé blend of Frontenac Gris and Sabrevois. The white had plenty going on in flavour and aroma but had a bit of an extra acid bite and perhaps that’s the reason for its name: Alligator.

I felt (as someone who studied wine making) that it should have been put through the process of malo-lactic fermentation where the harsher malic acid in grapes is converted to a softer lactic acid. It’s not always done in white wines but most commonly you see it in Chardonnay production.

Out in the vineyard a chicken decided it needed to lead the way and escorted me a hundred metres before getting bored with my slower pace and scampering off. The Japanese beetles were in full force attacking the vines as Maude talked about the various stressors that can affect a vineyard. It was so still under the shade of the trees and we enjoyed a glass of their red blend before heading back to the winery.

As a final treat she poured us a slightly-chilled red made from the Ste. Croix grape. It was a highlight for me as I enjoy lighter bodied reds a little cooler than room temperature. The wine had aromas of purple flowers and even a hint of cassis making me wonder if this hybrid was distantly related to Cabernet Sauvignon.

With purchases made, Brandon took them off our hands and stowed them safely in the back of the bus and with that we were off to the next destination where there was the promise of ice cream and warm apple pie.

A tour through Bristol

Our guide, Brandon Bolduc, took us down quiet country roads and several feelings settled over me simultaneously. The scenery was calming and I felt catapulted back in time. A time when I was a child on a road trip with my father. Even now as I write this, I'm unclear if my father ever drove out to the Pontiac but whatever the reasons for this sense of familiarity, I was grateful for the memory whether real or imagined.

We drove past the site of the old iron ore mine and then on to the historic resort community of Norway Bay in Bristol. As we rounded our way past the natural pier at the beach we were stopped and serenaded in French and English by an enthusiastic chanteuse.

Coronation Hall Cider Mills cidery

Minutes later we arrived at Coronation Hall Cider Mills and were greeted by the cheerful and bearded owner, Greg Graham. He proceeded to tell us about the history of the property and then led us to his cider production facility where he produces a hard English-style cider as well as traditional non-alcoholic cider.

A century ago, the village of Bristol was a summer vacation destination for people from Montreal and even New York state. The McDougall family who owned Pine Lodge (more on the lodge in a future edition) and had tremendous success with the property. They decided to build a dance hall to provide further entertainment for the paying guests. In 1937, to commemorate the coronation of George VI, the dance hall was renamed Coronation Hall and is now the site of some truly delicious things.

For an entertaining look at the cidery and the village of Bristol, I recommend viewing the excellent CBC show Still Standing, Season 5, Episode 10. Host Johnny Harris is given a full history by Greg Graham and other locals.

How wonderful for the Graham family that they occasionally have older visitors who remember their young years at the dance hall. Greg tells a story of one elderly woman who stopped by to tell the Grahams that Coronation Hall was once known among the kids as “Conception Hall.” Bristol village was a dry community and so the young found other ways to entertain themselves.

Greg's parents were busy in the open kitchen dividing apple pies and scooping ice cream and we were all very grateful for a sumptuous, perfectly crusted pie.

At this point, our tour operator Brandon informed us he was adding a specialty outing for Aug. 24 and 25, when the Coronation Dance Hall will be transformed into a theatre for a performance of the farce “Funny Money” by British playwright Ray Cooney.The outing will include transportation, a barbecue dinner and dessert, hard and soft cider and the performance. Details and tickets can be found at Aventure Outaouais.

Our little group lined up to make our souvenir purchases of cider and baked goods but I held up the departure waiting for the latest hot batch of fab apple barbecue sauce to be bottled. Purchase made, we were off to Shawville, the village of many churches, and The Little Red Wagon Winery.

A winery straight from Niagara or the Okanagan

Scott Judd and Jennifer Dale-Judd started their winery dream in 2010 by planting 500 hybrid vines that would produce quality grapes in the harsher Outaouais climate. Today, the Little Red Wagon Winery has more than 5,400 plantings sitting out back of an attractive open-concept dining room and event space that would be equally at home in Niagara or the Okanagan.

We took our seats at a communal table and were presented with cheese and charcuterie boards followed by their wines P'tit Blanc, P'tit Rose and P'tit Rouge.

I was impressed with their lineup overall. I purchased a bottle of P'tit Rouge which was superb with an Italian stew of rosemary, basil, romano beans, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and braised pork. It was one of those happy pairing accidents that will stay with me to my last days. What a knockout. It would be hard to imagine selecting a more perfect wine.

The P'tit Blanc had an abundance of yellow fruit character (pear, plum and golden delicious apple) followed by that most delicious singular flavour of chervil. The wine had been put through full malo-lactic fermentation which gave it a round buttery character. The P'tit Rose offered up aromas and flavours of red berries and sweet herbs while the seductive and velvety P'tit Rouge with its luscious dark fruit, finished with notes of coffee and blackberry.

A word needs to be said about some of the food that was presented to us. The charcuterie of cured beef tenderloin, coppa and a semi-dry Montreal smoked meat was among the finest I've had. It came from Brylee Farms where all their animals are grass-fed and naturally raised. I will be driving out there sometime soon to see how they do things.

The smoked trout produced by the mother-daughter team at Cedar Creek trout farm was equally impressive and this is also a must-stop for any gastronome.

The people at Little Red Wagon were as lovely as their products and Jennifer's art that adorns the wine labels and the walls of the winery. It offered a relaxed ambience that provided the opportunity to melt away as you gaze upon Jennifer's wildflower garden. They also cater to other artistic sensibilities with their music series that sees such talent as David Francey playing the room.

Bellies full and bottles in hand we packed up and headed to Les Collines Winery near Luskville.

Wine, food and a microclimate at Les Collines

Les Collines (The Foothills) is situated at the base of the Gatineau Park Eardley Escarpment looming in the distance. It provides for an ideal microclimate making for successful ripening of cool-climate hybrid grapes. Gazing out at the land you are simply in awe that this beauty is less than an hour from Ottawa. Frankly, you’d swear you were anywhere else but here. Someplace more southern perhaps?

As we approached the rustic barn-like structure, I was once again struck by the sense that I'd wandered into an old western landscape.

We were greeted by owners Lisanne Binette and Martin Dandenault who, years earlier, chose to settle here, leaving the Eastern Townships behind. Martin makes the wine and oversees vineyard operations while Lisanne presents the face of the winery through her attractive, modernist paintings and the cheerful art that adorns the wine labels.

The wines are cleanly made and expressive but more reserved in style suggesting Martin has an eye towards creating a wine that is more meant to go with food rather than just patio drinking. Although I'm certain that he would encourage that as well.

Glasses in hand, Martin took us a few hundred metres uphill and told us of his vineyards. We saw first-hand more active devastation from those ever-present Japanese beetles. I asked what methods he considered in dealing with them and having tried everything, he determined that netting was the only successful way. From my training, I know that both the cost and labour involved in such a project is not amusing and indeed, hundreds of vines were under net.

We made our way back to the winery where there was great interest from the group in buying as much as they could carry. With that, it was back to the bus and homeward bound.

Both Lisanne and Martin are fascinating and gracious hosts. I know I will be back to learn even more about their project and to try wines that I missed on this tour.

Brandon Bolduc has done something rather special for the people and businesses of the Outaouais. He has created not only a fun and educational day tour but, just as importantly, generated a renewed interest in this region so filled with natural beauty, talented creators, and rich history. It would be surprising if he were not short-listed for a new business award. I recommend you visit Aventure Outaouais to learn about the variety of tour options.

Finally I would like to thank Annie Léveillée and Tourisme Outaouais for making this outing possible so that I might share this with you, our readers.

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