With the wine harvest in full swing, there are lots of activities going on in the Eastern Townships.  The Fete des Vendanges may have passed, but if you are looking for a way to discover the wineries and gastronomy of Memphremagog and Orford than I highly recommend picking up the tasting booklet.  Priced at 30$ (tax included) for two people it covers samples at 7 sites throughout the region.  It can be a bit daunting to cover all in one day so it’s great that the booklet is valid until September 2017.  For more information check out their website: http://fetedesvendanges.com

Given the number of stops, distance between the stops, and the rather large amount of wine tasting, I only may it to 4 of the 7 stops.  Here is what I covered:

1. Le Cep D’Argent Winery (1257 Chemin de la Riviere):  This beautiful winery also doubles as a reception hall for events.  It also features a lovely shop, small museum, and tasting room.  The wine tastings included a wide variety of interesting flavours,  featuring the standard white, red, and rose wine in addition to a bubbly and lastly a kir wine that is great for the patio in the summer.  I was surprised to the see the vines covered in nets, so in case you’re equally curious the producers cover the plants to protect the grapes from birds who like to feed on them.

My Recommendation: La Reserve (red wine)

2. La Vignoble Chemin de la Riviere (1087 chemin de la riviere) : I absolutely adored the super friendly staff  that makes up this family owned business.  The daughter who led the wine tastings was personable and very knowledgeable about the wine production.  I got to taste a white, rose, red, and fortified wine even though the booklet only indicates two tastings.  I really enjoyed their white and fortified wine, with such an excellent balance of sweet and dry.  It’s got some nice spots for having a picnic, so grab yourself some food supplies and take advantage.

My Recommendation: Fortifie (Fortified red wine)

3. Ducs de Montrichard (388 Chemin Alfred Desrochers):  Included in your booklet is a tasting of 5 different products that includes a variety of terrine and rillette with a ton of creative flavors.  The standouts for me were the duck rillette with black chocolate and coffee, duck rillette with Lavender, and their signature item creme brulee au foie gras.  If you are not sure whether you would enjoy foie gras, this might be a way of easing into it as it is mixed with cream and sugar for sweeter taste.  I sampled it with a blueberry maple jelly and it was superb.

My Recommendation: Lavender Rillette or Creme Brulee au Foie Gras

4. Chocolats Venden Eynden (1745 Chemin de la Riviere aux Cerises):  This is such a tempting place to visit with the amazing array of chocolates.  Included in your package are 2 chococlate samples each and with such a variety of choices it is really hard to narrow it down.  I opted for the dark chocolate maple, and a pistachio cream.  They also have a counter with homemade gelato and some desserts like brownies and chocolate pie.

Recommendation: Pistachio