This Quebec small artisanal producer touts
some big accolades
By Shelley Boettcher
It started simply – some roasted meat
and a “For Sale” sign. In 1983, Pietro
and Pina Carone attended a barbecue
at a friend’s rural home and they discovered
that the land next door was for sale. They
bought it – all 15 acres – and set about
planting a garden.
“In many ways, they did a copy-and-paste
of what they had in their backyard
in Montreal, just on a larger level,” said
co-owner and vice president of CARONE
Wine + Spirits Sarah Hoodspith.
Just as they had done in their Montreal
garden, they decided to plant a few grape
vines, too.
Flash forward to now and that acreage
is CARONE Wines + Spirits, a family-owned
estate winery and artisan distillery. It’s
located along the Saint Lawrence River, in
the Lanaudière Valley, about 45 minutes
northeast of Montreal.
The first winery in Quebec to
commercially plant Pinot Noir, CARONE
has won myriad national and international
awards for its wines, which are marketed
under six brand names: Apex, Italus,
Venice, Verita, Bin 33 and Double
Barrel, a flagship red that’s only made in
outstanding vintages.
CARONE wines have been poured
around the world, including Japan, the U.K.,
and several African nations. The Venice
Cabernet Severnyi was the official red
wine for the Montreal royal visit by Prince
William and Kate Middleton, Duchess
of Cambridge, in 2011. Then, in 2015, a
different vintage of the Venice Cabernet
Severnyi was served to Queen Elizabeth II
during the reception at the official opening
of Canada House in London, England.
In the winery’s early days, the family
planted all kinds of grapes, 30-some
different varieties, including Nebbiolo,
while trying to determine what would do
best in its soil and climate.
They now focus on Pinot Noir, which
accounts for a third of their yield and
Cabernet Severnyi, a frost-hardy Russian
red wine grape.
“One quickly learns that what is done
in Italy or France will not always work
in Quebec,” Hoodspith said. “But there’s
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