Farsighted Fly Girl

Canada is famous for its sweet and smooth ice wine but in Monteregie, I discovered that there is also ice cider. And not the kind that is basically apple juice. Rolling up into La Face Cachee de la Pomme (The hidden side of the apple) cidrerie, I was greeted by apple orchards covered with rosy apples. Some varieties, like Fuji and Gala, stay on the trees until January, so that the cold and wind whip the insides into a concentrated taste. The frozen apples are picked when it's about 15 degrees below zero and the insides have been dehydrated and all that's left is nectar. Aged ice cider is stored in these barrels, La Face Cachee is a pioneer in ice cider and produces 10 different varieties. The founding president of La Face Cachee, Francois Pouliot, ditched his film video career where he worked with musicians like Celine Dion, to develop ground-breaking ice ciders. The ciders or apple ice wines as they are sometimes called, range from 8% -18% alcohol...

Next week, I'm off to the orchards and vineyards of the "Garden of Quebec," as Monteregie is called. Located just southeast of Montreal and filled with natural and gourmet delights, Montergerie is noted for wine, ice cider and tantalizing regional restaurants. My media tour includes visits to five vineyards, three cidreries, one chocolatier and one cheese maker so expect lots of dish sampling, cider sipping and wine tasting posts.  I'm also excited about biking along the St. Lawrence River, visiting a butterfly orchard and learning about the region's 18th century history. So stayed tuned for my exploration of Quebecois culinary culture.