Orofino's Four Days in Montreal...

The connection to the Montreal food scene started about 4 years ago when a couple of young restaurateurs stopped into our tasting room to try our wines. Derek Dammann and Alex Cruz of the tres chic restaurant DNA (Derek 'n Alex) were on a wine buying trip to BC and so it was all business. What so impressed us was that they were focussing on Canadian product only. Not the norm in the French wine dominated restaurant culture of Quebec. They had even gone so far as to get their own wine import license to sidestep the bureaucracy of the governing body of liquor in Quebec - the SAQ. They liked what they tasted and bought lots of Orofino to share with their customers.

Fast forward 4 years and we find ourselves working with the affable Eric-Gabriel Beauchamp who owns a small wine import agency in Quebec.  He has represented Orofino for a few years now and had invited us to Montreal numerous times to visit clients. He set up an itinerary and we all flew out to promote the wines. Virginia and myself were accompanied by Aaron (assistant winemaker) and his wife Carly (our new wine club manager) for a 4 day tour of food and wine in Montreal.  The idea was to have fun and eat well in perhaps North America's most exciting culinary city at the moment but mix in some Orofino business at the same time. We visited some tasty spots such as the Relais and Chateau Restaurant Europea, Pullman Bar with a killer wine list, and Olive and Gourmando where the pastries were delicious. Eric had set up winemakers dinners at the restaurants of two of our best clients in Montreal.

L'AUBERGE SAINT-GABRIEL


Virginia and John with
Sommelier and Canadian wine "freak"
 Francois



The art of the L'Auberge (yes, 2 moose)

A L'Auberge Plate  

The first night we enjoyed a terrific 5 course meal at the venerable L'Auberge Saint-Gabriel. This is a fine dining establishment in Old Montreal that is currently owned by the same guy who owns Cirque du Soleil. It also happens to be the first registered inn in North America (1788) and also holds the first liquor licence handed out. The place is incredible and we wondered what stories the old stone walls and big wooden beams could tell. Every course was terrific and we had a hard time picking the best of the night. Francois was a great host and he spoke so highly of Orofino and the Canadian wine scene in general. He is a big supporter and loves to show off what we can do.

MAISON PUBLIQUE

Maison Publique

Derek and John

The next night Eric-Gabriel arranged to have another Orofino-focussed dinner at the super cool Maison Publique. This was a very comfortable evening as this was Derek Dammann's latest project in Montreal. He partnered up with Jamie Oliver to produce this amazing little room that focusses on Canadian comfort food. Brilliant. This was a much more casual affair than the night before and it had its own charms. We loved the family style servings and elevated dishes that were simple yet just so perfect. The big plate of braised veal with green peas and the sticky salty caramel pudding (which makes me salivate just thinking about it) were 2 examples of what Derek does. Classic comfort food that makes people smile.
The rest of our time was spent visiting some SAQ stores where I learned the complexities of their government system of liquor distribution. To be honest it really has me shaking my head as it seems the bureaucracy is so entrenched it cripples those trying to bring in something unique or something that they can get excited about. The other disappointing trend is the shrinking shelf space for Canadian wines in SAQ stores. Very few spots are available on the shelves reserved for hundreds of European, especially French wines. We met some of the managers who understand and promote Canadian wines. They are few in number but very passionate.