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sf&m

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  1. Here's an article from Toronto Star that will delight you French wine lovers. How about SAQ calling up their French suppliers and ask them to increase the price, so they (SAQ) can make more money. Toronto Star Jan 14th:: Vive le Québec, and let's all have another round of drinks Booze monopoly as nation-builder Jan. 14, 2006. 01:00 AM Everywhere in Canada the question of privatizing liquor boards is sparking somewhat irrational debate. Readers may remember what was said in Alberta, when the Klein government privatized its monopoly: drunkards would be reeling in the streets, impure booze would threaten public health — in a word, morality and public safety were at issue. In Quebec, additionally, debate takes on an ideological dimension. They would have us believe that the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) is part of the modèle québécois. What's the modèle québécois? Essentially, a blend of welfare state and economic nationalism. When a study last fall by the Montreal Economic Institute recommended privatization of the SAQ, former PQ premier Bernard Landry made a rare TV appearance. He was passionate in his defence of the institution, which has "educated" Quebecers and "brought them closer to their roots" in Western Europe. How so? By developing a taste in them for wine rather than for gin, scotch and other Anglo-Saxon beverages. Landry seems to be unaware that it was thanks to England that the Bordeaux wine industry flourished. No matter. The SAQ isn't just about selling alcohol. It does patriotic work. Whatever the case, in Ontario or in Quebec, and whichever party happens to be in control, the State generally finds reasons for preserving its monopoly. The Liberal government of Jean Charest, for example, theoretically more rightist and, therefore, inclined to partnerships with the private sector, has absolutely no intention of dismantling the SAQ. In fact, they want it to pay more dividends ($545 million last year). And in that regard, between Christmas and New Year's we got wind of a strange piece of news. The SAQ called about 100 European wine producers to encourage them to raise their prices. Strange? Sure, if the SAQ is considered an enterprise that operates in the field of alcohol retailing. But if, on the other hand, the SAQ is considered a government tax-collecting organization, then this is completely normal behaviour. The thing is, the Canadian dollar has gone up by 17 per cent over the euro in the past year. And sales prices are "constructed" on the basis of the sales price set by the producer. If the price of European wines goes down, the SAQ's sales figures go down with them, and so do tax receipts. So, the goal is to maintain prices. Most suppliers, principally French, refused to play along — at last an opportunity to beat their Australian or American competitors. Has a buyer ever been known to ask a supplier to raise his prices? The SAQ countered this embarrassing bit of news by announcing on Wednesday that the price of European wines would dip by 8 per cent on Feb. 1. But the euro fell by 17 per cent. Where did the other nine percentage points go? Somebody drank them. In addition to playing the anti-Wal-Mart role when it comes to prices, the SAQ is busy making considerable reductions in the number of products offered. Large inventories entail enormous costs, and the SAQ wants to hang onto just its biggest sellers. One of the favourite arguments of defenders of the SAQ, however, is that the Crown corporation develops Quebecers' "taste" by offering a wide variety of products throughout its territory. Yves Michaud, a great friend of René Lévesque, a famous PQ militant and president of the Association des agences d'importateurs de vin, said last year that if privatization took place, a handful of untutored "boutiquiers" (little shopkeepers) would take over the market and sell us plonk. In Alberta, though, exactly the opposite took place. The number of outlets increased threefold. There are 300 more than in Quebec for less than half the number of residents. They sell 11,575 products there, as against 7,148 (and going down) in sophisticated Quebec. Not bad for a bunch of Anglo-Saxon cowboys! Oh, and another detail: State alcohol revenues have increased in Alberta, with no significant rise in consumption. But, so what. A "fundamental" feature of Quebec, stated Landry, involves electricity and wine being offered everywhere in the province at a fixed price. A question of "solidarity." Maybe one day supermarkets will be nationalized and this policy will be applied to broccoli and sardines. After all, "national" solidarity should obligatorily entail supplying antioxidants and omega-3 to all our compatriots. So let's drink to solidarity — it's included in the bottle anyway.
  2. Oh, my God..I am FREAKING OUT!! Ok, this is it.... now local producers really have to get their act together. It's take down time. Last year they shut down the sale of local wines in Grocery Stores. I was afraid this was going to happen then. Now this. Hate to say this but maybe it's time to sick some US NAFTA laywers on them. NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE. Ok, so we get alls sorts of competiton from all over the world with free trade, but at least I can display and sell my product just like any other business man anywhere I %%#$@ like. Listen let's say you're starting a business and some jerk politician with $$$ stuck into every orifice tells you where you can sell your product ... HIS store... at what price...HIS price... when.... when HE decides. WTF is that. All of you running a small business, think about that. Anyway... sorry about the rant... feel better now... Thanks. The greed & corruption is unimaginable.
  3. rcianci, I was wrong. CC&P does not have site up yet. /gth
  4. Wow, cook'em - would it matter - even if jfl91 OWNS the place???.. I see no harm done!! Announcements and straight facts from pros and their followers should be encouraged as far as I am concerned... how else are we supposed to know? After the fact by some tourist that happend to wander in? Or from the insiders that show up here after the fact to brag....? If you're not interested or the info does not concern you, let it go... in IMHO. Also - I guess CC&P finally has a website - well - one page.
  5. Max, the SAQ on the north side of JTM has decent inventory of QC wines. But then, if there you might as well go across to the south side at MArche des Saveurs which has an excellent cross-section of QC wines - and cheaper than SAQ. Look for Vignoble des Pins, Domain Ridge and L'Orpailleur to start with. So you don't have to wait for summer! Remember that 2004 was an especially bad year for QC wines. The summer was cold and rainy, and it looked to be a total bust when finally a couple of weeks warm weather in September "saved" some of it. But it's bad vintage. However, the 2005's should be some of the best wines produced in QC.
  6. Had dinner at Juni last night and tried his desert for the first time.... Wow.. The Gingerbread with caradamom ice cream + one other kind of ice cream (sorry I'm a bad reviewer), paper thin slices of dried pinapple and a refreshing berry sauce (sorry again about non-specificity) - it was a regular flavour riot!! My dinner companions desert was also great.... please make a point of it next time... But it is sad to see what terrible cost considerations even a such as great sushi chef as Juni has to work under in Montreal. I guess quality fish is just not available/too costly here. He sure makes it worth it with what his got though. His 5 sashimi starter with 5 different condiments is still great and a bargain, although not of the quailty as when he started.
  7. How about that BO place by Fairmount & St Laurent? Thought Is saw something about here a while ago but don't see it now.... /gth
  8. Hmm, jfl91.... don't know if I can agree that Icewine price is the problem, especially not compared to German Icewine. I have a good German wine importer in SF and his German Icewine is very expensive usually 100-300 $ per 375 ml bottle. Candadian ICewine is usually about $50 per split. In Canada we can reliably produce Icewine every year, in Germany maybe 3-4 times per decade. I am talking about "available" wines now.... maybe you have some in on extra special ONTARIO Icewines. Icewine will never come down in price. Remember you get about 10% of the juice when you press the frozen grapes, not to speak of hanging loss in the vineyard. But Canadian Icewine has been a success in Asia - price no object. If you mean "late harvest" vs German Spatlase or Auslese I agree, the latter are often bargains. I had PErvenchance at BU and I was not impressed either. I think a lot of people were surprised/interested in the Chardonnay. I've seen their vineyard and it's not an especially good site. And I agree the distribution of Ontario wine in QC is horrendeous, and vice versa. Of course distribution is a big problem just inside QC with SAQ setting all sorts of barriers.
  9. Jfl91 I don't particularly like what you are saying but I understand where you are coming from, and I would even agree with you to some extent. But the world does not only consist of Per Se and Utopie and Grand Crus, and even they did not rise phoenix like from nowhere. It would be interesting to know what QC wines you have sampled and if you could be a more specific about what you consider bad with them... Nobody said it would be easy to produce decent wines in QC and if we are to be successful we need superior efforts on the production side but also constructive critique and analysis from consumers. So we need you and your knowledge but we don't need to be ignored. Have you checked out Ice wine from Marathonien and from Chapel St Agnes? Have you Sampled Vignoble des Pins products? As far as the prospects of Chardonnay in QC, they are dim. Normally Chardonnay has a 90% bud death at -20 Deg centi. So it's a challenge to get sustainable crop in QC. And if that means relying and fudging on imported Chardonnay - what's the point? A much better propect is to introduce the vinifera (european wine) quailities on the genetic levels through hybrid breeding of vinifera and native hardy grape species. Turns out we now live in "interesting times". Current QC production from Hybrid grapes are often based on Hybrids developed a long time ago from Vinifera and Labrusca types. Now we are in a period where several new hybrids resulting from the last 15-20 years of breeding - based on Vitis Vinifera and Vitis Riparia - are released, mainly from research at Univerity of Minnesota and Cornell In NY. Unfortunatly it takes another 2-3 years after US release before we can plant them in Canada because of the Canadian gov. regulations and foot dragging. Anyway - in a few years you'll see Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, La Crescent etc. wines becoming available. Of course it will take some time to learn how to vinify these new grapes, but it is highly likely that we'll see some very interesting and unique (world class?) wines from Quebec during the next 10 years. Meanwhile small steps are taken all the time in improving QC wines. Please check them out and report what you think and be specific - even if you think like jfl91.
  10. Thank you Mr Carswell!! Happy New Year! Having started a vineyard in Quebec last summer (disclosure!) I did not feel it was appropriate for me to start. Now the problem is going to be how to get me to shut up! Ok, first for those in Montreal that would like to sample QC wines, the easiest route is to visit Marche des saveurs at JTM. They have a good cross section of what is produced in the province. CAVEAT: A lot of the products you'll find there are fruit wines, "mistells", fortified wines, hydromel, Ice cider etc. Not to dwell on judgement of those products, IMHO we need to seperate out those out from "vinis" based products - WINE - which I propose should be the subject of this thread. SAQ also carry limited inventory of QC wines but heavily "diluted" by the other products mentioned above. (Which eventually could deserve their own thread.) Also to be noted is that some of the best QC wines produced are only available at the wineries, or at Montreal Restaurants - for instance Les Pervenches. But MdS is a good way to start & get access. Wineries to look for there (for starters and reresentative of what's available): - Vignoble des Pins Very small production by innovative owner Gilles Benoit. Check out his Late harvest Geisenham and the Troubador which is a red blend featuring Frontenac with some residual sugar. Also Rose for summertime sipping. - Vignoble de L'Orpailleur By far the largest QC producer. Try their Rose next summer. And by all mean try their "Red" and "White". Representative of *current* QC wine production. Vidal Ice wine. - Domaine du Ridge Rose. -Vignoble de la Rivière du Chêne This is the Winery in St-Eustache mentioned above. Marechal Foch Red Vidal Ice wine & late harvest That's a start for those that might be interested. I'll get back on the questions C. posted re: Chardonnay & Tourist reds & what the future might bring.
  11. Marché Des Saveurs at JTM now offers a "Menu des fêtes" - a catering menu. Apparently you order by December 12th and they deliver - I would guess on designated date and time. A range of "Soupes., Mignardises (savoury), Repas and Desserts" are offered + a Québec centric collection of beer and wine. As an example (many more dishes available): soupe à l'agneau et haricots blancs ravioli au confit de canard Fèves au lard Tourte du marché (cerf-lapin- faison) porc farci au canneberge wellington de cerf Gâteau au fromage St-Honoreé and Plateaux de fromage du Québec et charcuteries The number to call is 514-271-3811 Never tried their catering so have NO idea about quality. Could be fun. Most dishes are $12-30 for 6 to 8 person servings. Snacks per dz. Looks as you could do "Mignardises", Soup, Mains and dessert for about $100 - $150 for 6-8 people! (?) Less wine of course.
  12. New flavour - "Poire et Porto". More subtle. Simon, Agree on Clementine.... another "super-realistic" fruitbomb.... nice acidity too...)
  13. Francois, I found their website here: Lait d'Antan website They do list their distribution....available throughout Quebec it seems, however did not see a Gatineau distributor.... but it could be in a nearby town I suppose. In the summer at least they have a booth at JTM in Montreal.
  14. Right you are... As I mentioned to ap jow in the other thread my main source of information about QC Cheese (except for the uummmm practical) is the book by Richard Bizier: "Répertoire des fromages du Québec" Handsomely illustrated with photography by Roch Nadeau this is a very impressive resource. This book is now in its much improved 2nd edition. Even if you have his first book, I highly recommend the latest which has pictures of every cheese, maps of where it was produced and nice chapters on the history of Quebec cheese production and nice "bios" of each producer. Many of my meals end up being a few pieces of Fromentier baguette and a sample of 4 or 5 Quebec cheeses so when I have more time I'll try to list what my current favourite cheese are. I purchase most of my cheese at JTM's Marche des saveuers. It's a small cheese counter but they only feature Quebec cheese. I like the unhurried pace there and the cute girls behind the counter who carefully wrap each piece of cheese with respect and care like they were precious jewels. Slow food at its best. I hope this thread will get a lot of interest. It would be fun to hear from producers too and definetly from or about restos that feature Quebec Cheeses on their menu.
  15. No, don't recall having tried that one.... but I think I know where their stand is at JTM.... La Moutonnière is located in Sainte-Helene-de-Chester in Bois-Franc Look, I am no QC Cheese expert.... I just know what I like... Hopefully if we start up a thread we can learn a bunch from the real experts. BTW: IF you don't have it - get this amazing book... The "Bible of QC Cheese"... "Répertoire des Fromages du Quebec" By Richard Bizier and Roch Nadeau. Available at Libraire Gourmand at JTM /gth
  16. 1. Jamie, I wonder if we are still too early for new regional cuisines? Right now it seems to me we're still in "repair and restore" mode, with regional specialized small farm producers returning and finding markets with innovative chefs and public farmers markets. If regional Cuisines reemerge they will not be based on isolation and necessity of old days but on new creative ways of featuring regional products AND gastronomical traditions. The STAR chef that creates a new quisine? Not that we should limit creativity of new chefs and restos by requiring a litmus test of regionality. Let that happen organically. But the movement needs publicity and marketing and ultimately probably legal protection - as in "AOC" and "DOC" designations - to be economically viable and reach a bigger audience. We could actually be quite far along the way in terms of this "infra structure" development so it's only a matter of time... I hope. BTW: ANy sign of food regional foods associated with BC vineyards and wine culture? Regioanality being a cornerstone of viticulture... 2. Identifier, great exiting regional information.... let's make sure it does not get buried. I don't think California has got that much on Quebec. We have seasons there too... Read "Honey from a Weed" by Patience Gray to understand traditional Mediterranean winter foods.... I spend my SF Saturdays at the SF Ferry Plaza Market and unless you're a total yuppie, I think JTM holds is own ANY DAY of the year..... 10+ kinds of apples (that tastes like apples), superior berries in season, duck, pintade, chevaline.....even peaches for chris's sake... I'll take ON peaches in season any day.... not to speak of QC cheeses - leaves California in the dust. That's what has exited me so much about Quebec. And what about the traditional winter foods, the Confits, the Hams, the Salamis, The salt and dried fish....THE CHEESE.... . ALL are candidates for regional excellent foods. Forget about what QC don't have and concentrate on what it does have which is a Distinct Culture in North America. 3. Ap Jow, I am so greatful you started this thread. Sorry if I hijacked it with technial blarny... But I think these subjects and the distinction of QC food and culture needs a wider audience so I do think it's important it's prominently featured on what is after all a REGIONAL food forum. For the benefit of VISITORS. I've been wanting to see a thread on QC Cheese and other products for a long time. No sense in carrying the "sticky thread" argument any longer...that can be done any time. This thread is great for the discussion you started but I will start a new thread on QC cheese to see if I can learn something more and gather more information about this QC product success. Hopefully other QC product specific threads will follow.
  17. Like in anything else there has to be some standards. As consumers we can "enforce" those standards by supporting those that produced foods in a healthy, sustainable and ethical way. A bad QC farmer that use a lot of pesticides and mistreats his animals is no better then any corporate mass producer. And it's not always a easy choice for the producer. He/She has to have a market for - probaly more expensive to produce - foods. "We" have to be that market. Local good, on occasion world class, unique food production can only be sustained via this symbiosis between producer and market. Which is why it is so important to spread the word.... starting with enthuiasts like people on this forum. I'd say it's more important that the production is local and sustaniable then strickly "organic". At least in the US now, "organic" has been codified by the government and once it's codified the big corporate farms have bent the rules a bit and now they are outcompeting small farms with mass produced "organics".... For instance the organic rules states that poultry has to have "access to free air"..... We all think of happy spring chickens wandering about doing their business right.... We'll that *might* not be how a "organic" chicken factory thinks it means. Consumer interest and innovative marketing and demand startup - most often via Chefs and Farmers markets can slowly turn things around. It has happend in the last 20 years in California. Quebec has another set of realities, but is already far along the way, this is not news, it's what innovative chefs are doing and what is available in markets and stores. That's a story that's worth telling to visitors to Quebec and Montreal. Which I'd like to see it featured here.... and personally learn something....
  18. I've been to the SAQ depot at Marche Central. There are two main features in this store: 1. You can purchase bulkwine which you fill into bottles you bring or purchase. They have nice facilities for rinsing bottles as well as hand operated (but good) corking machines to seal your bottles after you fill up..... Selection of bulk wine usually by vareital, but I think also some blends. You can taste each wine - kind'a fun to hold a small paper cup under the spigot. We're talking bulk wines here. 2. A limited selection of wines, usually in three packs. Seems to me much limited if you're looking for quality. It's worth checking out though, especially on a weekend just to see old Greek and Italian geezers arguing which bulk wine they should get. It's a bit of a scene, in spite of SAQ trying to make it sterile. And who knows, for the holidays SAQ might feature deals.....
  19. Ok, Carswell, you probaly have a better understanding fof the "cyber rules" covering this forum. If "pinned" means locked.... ok, no dice.. That would NO good.... clearly we need some forum manager to take care of those things and manage pinned subjects based on demands. What happend to your "unpublished response" announced on another thread... hear.... hear.....
  20. Hmm, Carswell, sticking wth the technical issues, aren't we... Your are correct, only you make a difference between active threads and "pinned" threads..... OBVIOUSLY there needs to be a correlation.... if a pinned threads "can't keep it up"... that's it.....NEXT... More later... on my second bottle of Vin De Gris de Cigare .... and less lucid...
  21. Sounds lip smacking good!! I have to try that with a bit of My 1988 Clos de Brume Hydromel..... (It's very sherry like) And of course LOCAL.. /gth
  22. Thank's Carswell. Points well taken but mostly you're raising technical issues that only minor issues or irrelevant to achieving the goal of promoting local foods. IMHO of course.... 1. Page "hogging" You're right, it takes up space, however, for those who are NOT everyday posters making a quick check I don't think it matters.... you need to scroll to reach what's been posted in the last 20 days anyhow. And those are the readers that I think need to be reached. But it's important we choose those sticky tracks judicioulsy. And some folks have more pixels on screen these days. 2. Sticky topic relevance Well if a sticky topic does not get any traffic, it should be removed. The topics now, relating to egullet get-togethers seem to have no appeal, so they should go. But first "let's give peace a chance" shall we. 3. Ok, I am interested in featuring Quebec products, but that does not have to exclude other adjacent localities. Let's not be overly technical and board rule Gestapo about this. Does not serve the purpose and the agenda which is to promote and feature locally produced foods. And perhas "Eastern Canada" should have it's own forum. 4. So the discussions goes on. and on. and on. It's nice, almost like entering a room with a whole bunch of people conversing. Topics come, topics go. It's pleasant, it's all good and it's anything , anywhere all the time. Only after a while it's all white noise. Heck, I DO like these discussion tracks also, don't get me wrong. But how many people know how to use search features on these forums, how many people actually scroll beyond the first page? Most folks would not have been able to find that cheese track you linked to, Carswell. I don't think that is how most folks think. And most people that derive information and enjoyment from these posts are not posters, they are just folks trying to get some info, to learn something. So yes, we can start those free threads but it does not take long for a thread to dip below the page line and then it feels old and stale in the first place and new similar threads get started and so the conversation rumbles on and it's disbursed and all over the place in a years time. I think it's worth trying. It could be there is not that much interest, we'd know that in a couple of months. There could be technical problems with a sticky thread becoming to big and cumberome and/or stale.... who knows..... let's try it! So again.... what are the creative categories we can use to promote and collect infomation about local foods? Quebec Cheese is a given I think, because of what QC producers have achieved. QC Beer, cider and wine would also be interesting for a visitor and have solid unique products to justify itself. QC meat and fowl and fish could be put in with cheese I suppose into some Uber QC track, but prefferable would be seperate.
  23. Yes, I agree Ap jow, that we need more exposure.... Within the confines of this forum I think it would be great if we could agree to mount a few "sticky" treads on Quebec products as I have outlined upthread...... I've asked Marlene if this is possible but have not heard back from her... Obvioulsy if there is not a consensus it's a good idea, for get it... so now is the time to speak up...
  24. Hear, hear!!!! Darn... not in Montreal and missed those articles....who wrote them? However, ap jow, I don't think the situation is AS bleak in reality. Local Quebec produceras are alive and well and to my estimate gaining ground. They don't get as much as Exposure as they should especially not on this forum. But - who can we blame but us who are interested parties...? And things are not as bad on the consumer side. At least among high end restos and chefs, there is a great and prideful effort to feature locally sourced ingredients - produce, meats, fowl, foi gras, cheese and (heaven forbid) a few wines even. Quebec cheese is a success story already, to my mind surpassing Northern California. And outlets for local consumers are available, in the Farmers markets, stores in Laurier's "Gourmet Gulch" and Cheese stores. Just say NO to Loblaws!!! For the Montreal forum I'd like to see at least these "sticky" tracks published.... (tracks that always appear first) 1. Quebec Cheese 2. Quebec produce, meat and fowl 3. Quebec beer, cider and wine 4. Quebec restos that feature locally sourced ingredients The idea is to feature Quebec products and encourage a productive discussion for & by visitors, local consumers and PRODUCERS, in tracks that stay above the regular issue de jour. THAT would be useful. Hello MODS....How do we publish "sticky" tracks??? /gth
  25. Yeah, which food and wine show....?? Went to the Ottawa Food and Wine show two weeks ago. If we had one here this weekend I'll feel really dumb..... Anyway... IS there a Montreal event like the annual Ottawa show?? /gth
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