If the growth of viticulture in Quebec is no longer a secret, no one has yet quantified and mapped it precisely. This is what Majella Gauthier, geographer and professor emeritus at UQAC, as well as her colleague Réal Beauregard, did in this document, which also highlights two other major trends: an expansion of vines towards the northeast of the Quebec, particularly in Gaspésie and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, and a densification of viticulture in the south of the province.
According to the two geographers, this explosion of vine cultivation in Quebec is directly linked to the development of cold-resistant hybrid grape varieties as well as the development of agronomic methods adapted to our climate. But global warming also has something to do with it — especially in more northern regions, where we would never have thought of growing grapes not so long ago.
Source: Gauthier and Beauregard, UQAC, 2024
Extended season
“When I left Lac-Saint-Jean to go to Saint-Hyacinthe, for my studies, I found that their autumn was beautiful, that their October was mild. It was 50 years ago. Now, the autumns they had there are here… we gained about two weeks of autumn!” recalls Bertrand Tremblay, co-owner of the Couchepagane vineyard in Métabetchouan-Lac-à-la-Croix.
With these additional weeks, the growing season of the vines has become long enough in Lac-Saint-Jean for the grapes to reach maturity before the fall frosts.
But although there are now no fewer than 13 vineyards in this region, growing grapes there still has its share of challenges. For example, Mr. Tremblay plants raspberry bushes around his vines to protect them from the wind and allow snow to accumulate in his fields. The snow then acts as an insulator which protects the buds from extreme cold.
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