Fête des Vendanges

One of the great pleasures of the Fête is to talk to winemakers, cider producers, alcohol producers and agri-food artisans in order to better understand the products presented and, of course, to taste them.

Among the returning participants will be the vineyard of the Rivière du Chêne (in the Laurentians), the Orpailleurs, the Puss in Boots and the Cidrerie du Minot (Montérégie), the Cep d'argent (Eastern Townships) , or Isle of Bacchus (Ile d'orleans), to name a few.

Others will be present at the Festival for the first time, such as Nordvie with its fine spirits (Témiscamingue), the Miellerie King and the Domaine des 3 Fûts (Center-du-québec).

Regardless of where they come from, they are all passionate about their work.

The festival of the taste buds would not be complete without cheeses, rillettes, ducks and other delights presented by artisans. There is plenty for first time visitors to discover, like the birch syrup created by Appalache, products from Cerfs Rouge Labrecque, sausage from Cochons tout ronds, organic garlic from Petit Mas, rillettes from Duc de Montrichard or cheese from artisinal cheesemaker La Nouvelle France, which won the Caseus prize for the best cheese in Quebec in 2014.

In addition to the Tasting Pavilion with its 300 or so Québec products, the Bubbles and Discoveries Pavilion, where visitors will be able to experiment, taste and discover mixology, wines, bubbles, spirits and microbrewery beer tents and taverns. VEGAS animations and tastings and the Pavillon des artisans, the Académie gourmande will present a special BBQ edition with renowned chefs such as Jonathan Garnier, Jean-philippe Cyr and Félipé St-laurent.

The Bistro SAQ, is also a popular attraction, where visitors can enjoy a drink while enjoying performances by well-known and up-and-coming artists.

For the first time, this year, it will be possible to experience the off-site celebration with a VEGAS beer tasting on Memphremagog's Grand Cru d'escapades on September 2 or by jumping aboard the Orford Express tourist train on September 8 for a dinner and a wine tasting with spokeswoman, Jessica Harnois.

For music lovers, jazz dinners will be presented at the bistro of Orford Musique on the two Saturdays of the Festival, on Sept. 1 and 8.

To buy tickets online and get the details about the program visit the website www.fetedesvendanges.com.

COURTESY The festival takes place each year at Merry Point in Magog in a series of tents spread across the park with different things in each.

COURTESY The festival draws participants and visitors from across the province