La Grande Dégustation 2016

La Grande Dégustation de Montréal
6th Edition

November 3 -5, 2016

La Grande Dégustation de Montréal is back at Place Bonaventure. There are conferences and tastings of over 1,200 products. This is also an opportunity to meet over 160 wine and spirit producers from all around the world, and to purchase some 800 private imports.

2016 THEMES

This year, the spotlight is on South America - Argentina and Chile. Nearly 50 internationally renowned wine producers are present, eager to make visitors discover their products.

On the pictures of the Argentinian wines displays shown just below, we see on the left LA RIOJANA cooperative wine producer. All their workers are full-fledged members of the cooperative. The cooperative makes sure all the needs of the workers' families and their children are met, including education, clean water, housing, transportation, and even a computer room for the kids. On the very right is the stand of El ESTECO GRIPO PENAFLOR that is the largest umbrella of Argentine wine producing cooperatives.

Chilean wine producers:

Whisky also makes up a major part of the La Grande Degustation event with close to 20 Scottish, Irish, American and Canadian producers present at the show.

This year’s feature variety is the Syrah whose grapes are used to produce excellent wines throughout the world, including the Crozes Hermitage appellation.

• La Grande Dégustation de Montréal is a unique opportunity to purchase individual bottles of over 800 private imports, delivered to your home or in stores before the holidays. 

• This year, about thirty producers are offering ecofriendly products that meet recognized certification standards: organic farming, fairtrade, etc.


 • At La Grande Dégustation de Montréal, visitors embark on a journey to discover over 160 producers from 19 countries who will be taking part in the event.

International wine producers:

La Grande Dégustation de Montréal is organized by the Association québécoise des agences de vins, bières et spiritueux (AQAVBS) and copresented by the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ). “Every year we are impressed by the success of the event and by the public’s enormous interest,” stated Daniel Richard, president of La Grande Dégustation de Montréal. “La Grande Dégustation de Montréal has become fall’s must-see epicurean event!”

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For more information, visit La Grande Dégustation de Montréal website.

Italian Wines 2016

The Italian Trade Commission
A Tasting of Wines from Italy
21st Edition

November 2, 2016

About 100 wine producers and distributors of Italian wines took place in this annual event at the Marché Bonsecours located in Old Montreal. It was well attended by the wine industry professionals from the region of the greater Montreal, who diligently took notes and photos of those wine bottles that they found to be the best from the great number of really exceptional vintages.

with a seminar about the Italian wines, the regions they came from, the type of soils they were grown on, and the climate that affected the vineyards. The number of places was limited so not everybody was able to participate.

Later, all interested were able to participate in a self-guided manner, navigating through the great number of wine display tables from various regions and wine production establishments.

Italians are well known about their hospitality, and a lot of food was provided for the event by the Europea restaurant in Montreal.

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For more information, visit the Italian Trade Comission Wine Tasting webpage.

Wines of Portugal 2016

Wines of Portugal
Grande Dégustation des vins du Portugal

June 22, 2015

The Portuguese wine tasting took place at the Société des Arts Technologiques [SAT], in Montreal. 43 wine produces were participating with 350 different wine products which ranged from numerous and very distinct bubbly, white, rosé, and red wines, and even Porto, some of them 40 years old. 

The professional wine tasters had quite a job to focus on the wines of their specific interest, choosing among the great variety of speciality wines from different Portuguese regional vineyards. One could get easily overwhelmed with the seemingly endless gamuts of wine tastes, bouquets, aromas, and even colours.  

Portugal has a great pride in their native grape varieties used to produce the multitudes of their wines. Also, their distinct soils and regional geographical differences offer not only challenges but also great opportunities to the local wine producers, making their wines one of the kind.

This Portuguese wine tasting was a great success, with many people attending and participating in bringing the wines of Portugal to the attention of the local wine distributors, Quebec and Canadian wine buyers, and even private wine collectors and connoisseurs.

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For more information on Portugal Wines production Regions and special Events, visit the Wines of Portugal website.

Prosecco DOCG et le Valpolicella Wines

Mini Salon Prosecco DOCG et le Valpolicella Wines

June 15, 2016

The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada honoured the Prosecco DOCG and Valpolicella wines. Wine producers from the Veneto presented a variety of their wines, many of them not yet available in Quebec or Canada. The event was held in Montreal, at the ITHQ -  Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec. Finger foods at the event's buffet were prepared by the Institute's students.

The wine tasting started with the bubbly wines, with four producers displaying their best sparkling wines at the first four tables at the Salon. This assured a very refreshing wine tasting experience on the hot summer day. It was quite an excellent representation of the white sparkling wines from the Italy's North-East wine growing region.

Other tables displayed a great variety of red vintages, many of them presenting a great opportunity for the attending wine professionals to discover and maybe even to promote these wines in Quebec and North America.

There were also two wine seminars presented at the event:

Seminar on the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, presented by Guénaël Revel says Mr. Bubbles, historian and author specializing in sparkling wines.

Seminar on the Consorzio per la tutela dei Vini Valpolicella, presented by Jacky Blisson, wine journalist.

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Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG                                     

Sorelle Bronca Srl                                   
Terre di San Venanzio Fortunato             
                                                                        
Consorzio per la tutela dei Vini Valpolicella

Cantina Valpantena Verona

Corte Scaletta

Tenuta Santa Maria                                 

Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG           
Biancavigna                       
Bisol                                   
Villa Sandi 
                         
Consorzio per la tutela dei Vini Valpolicella

Cantina Valpolicella Negrar

Casa Vitivinicola Tinazzi

Domenico Fraccarol 

French South-West Wine

French South-West Wines Tasting

June 14, 2016

Wines from the South-West of France were brought to the attention of Montreal and Quebec wine professionals today. There were 21 wine producers and distributors representing mostly red but also some white and rose wines. A number of them are already available at the SAQ, but there were many that were quite new to those who attended the event.

The South West vineyards are situated between the reliefs of the Massif Central to the north-east, the Pyrenees in the south, and the Atlantic to the west. The geographical location strongly influences the growth of the vines and seal their aromatic and taste characteristics. This also applies to the soil, the composition of which varies according to different locations, contributing to the specificity of the South-West wines. The climate also varies across the territory, ensuring a wide variety of the regional wines.

Grape vines strive in the South-West of France. Their diversity reflects their acclimatisation comfort in that region. There are 300 grape varieties, including 120 indigenous grape vines, which assures very interesting and unique tasting vintages.

Generous food was served at this tasting event, assuring that those attending were able to taste many different wine varieties without any unpleasant consequences.

The event was a great success.

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To find more about the the French South-West wines, visit this website.

Bourgogne 2016

Bourgogne Wine Tasting
June 6, 2016

Bourgogne and its five wine producing regions were represented today at a wine tasting at the Hotel Sofitel in Montreal. A large gamut of white, rose, bubbly and reds were offered to the professionals. Some wines are already available at the SAQ, others were offered for the selections to enter the Quebec and Canadian markets.

24 Bourgogne vineyards participated in the event. The wine selection was rich and quite impressive.

The event was organized by the following three organisations:Conseil Régional de Bourgogne Franche Comté, CCI Bourgogne (La chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Bourgogn), and Business France - Amerique du Nord.

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