The origins of vine growing in Québec

(From: Vignes et vin au Canada, M. Masson)

1535
First mention of vines in Canada goes back to Jacques Cartier who discovered wild vines on an island downstream of Québec City. As it should he called it Île de Bacchus, which later became Île d’Orléans.

1636
We find several references to vines in Jesuit correspondence. For example this is cited from Père Lejeune: “There are a few areas where wild vines are heavy with grapes; some have made wine with them ut of curiosity…” Thus the lack of mass wine from France made the Jesuits use wild vines to produce it. From these sources we estimate that there were, as today, wild vines growing in all of New France, probably from the species vitis riparia.

Between 1870 and 1880
There was an expansion in vine growing in Québec, partly because of the hope to select new North-American hybrids adapted to Québec climate and partly because of the success known by the vineyards in the Niagara Peninsula. At the time the Québec vineyard covered 100 acres. After a few years, the vitis vinifera perished but we were able to identify rustic hybrids (Champion, Hartford, Prolific, Delaware, Clinton, Concord, Duchess).

1890
Québec wine growing goes into hibernation. The existing vineyards have been decimated by the cold and sicknesses.

1935
We estimate the Québec vineyard to be 35 acres.

From 1947
Jo Vandal, agronomist and genetics professor at Université Laval’s Science Department, started selecting French, American, and Canadian varieties to study their rusticity and produce hybrids. Among the varieties he was recommending in the 70’s, let’s mention Minnesota 78, Maréchal Foch, Léon Millot, Eona…

1970
Michel Croix undertook a study on the possibility of commercial vine growing in the south of Québec. Various techniques were used to protect the vines against the cold and to absorb a minimum of heat, but they all ended in failure.

Photo : Johanne Ratté