ROBIN DOHRN-SIMPSON
Auberge & Spa West Brome
J
ust outside of Montreal is a unique
area in the Quebec Province called
Eastern Townships. Located around
45 minutes southeast of Montreal, several
hours from the city of Quebec, and bordering Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont,
the Eastern Townships area offers many
activities for the traveler to experience
during any season.
The area is also known as Estrie, a toponym adopted in 1981. It is also identified
as “Cantons-de-l’Est”, which was a name
used by the first settlers to the area in the
16th century. The area was formed after
the American Revolution when the British
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gave loyalists fleeing the United States a
safe haven to live in. Today the Eastern
Townships area consists of the following
sub-regions: Sherbrooke, Granby-Bromont,
Brome-Missisquoi, Val Saint-François,
Memphrémagog, Coaticook, Asbestos,
Haut Saint-François and Mégantic.
The charm of the pastoral countryside
spattered with old villages, apple orchards,
maple shacks and vineyards is a popular
destination for New Englanders. For the
wine and spirits enthusiast, there are many
wineries and cider houses to visit. If you are
visiting Montreal, it is well worth adding
a day to visit the Eastern Townships. The
ideal way to capture the beauty and sights
of the area is by taking a tour. Kava Tours
is highly recommended. Kava offers both
self-guided picnic lunch tours and private
guided tours. Tour guide/owner Benoit
Hébert will lead you through the best of the
three wine regions of the Eastern Townships. They are Dunham, considered the
birthplace of Quebec’s wineries, Bromont,
and Rougemont (Monteregie), which is
known for its cider producers.
A day visiting the wineries of the Eastern Townships should include a variety of
wineries and cider producers. Our visit to
the region Vignoble Les Pervenchesbegan
in the Brome-Missisquoi region at a boutique family-run winery called Vignoble
Les Pervenches. Owners Michael Marler
and Veronique Hupin take pride in their
3 hectare vineyard, which they farm using
both organic and biodynamic principles.