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drives, multiple sclerosis research projects,
as well as cancer research fundraisers, both
local and provincial.
The cancer research fundraisers have
a personal significance for the Carone
family, who, in 2005, had to make some
serious family decisions after Pietro was
diagnosed with terminal cancer. “We had
been weekend warriors up until that point,
but in May 2005, my husband decided to
leave his full-time job and focus on the
winery,” Hoodspith said.
Pietro died in 2007, but his wife
Pina, the family’s matriarch, is still very
much involved in the business. “She helps
manage the vineyard with an iron fist
and she isn’t shy about telling people in
three languages what they’ve done wrong,”
Hoodspith said with a laugh. “But there are
80 years of experience behind that advice.”
Indeed, in a typical year, all three
generations – and some longtime family
friends, too – can be found hard at work
during harvest. “Everything is done by
family,” Hoodspith said. “It’s very much a
family business and always has been.”
In 2020, CARONE marked its 15th
anniversary. While the team originally had
planned to celebrate, the global pandemic
put a damper on the festivities. “I did a
social media post and that was about
it,” Hoodspith said. “We’ll do something
in 2021. Like everyone, we’ve just had
to adapt.”
Also this year, the family hopes to
expand its list of spirits, which have proven
to be profitable, as well as a fun, creative
outlet for the team. “We were the first
distillery in our region,” said Hoodspith.
“And we have an artisanal distillery permit,
which means that from the grape all the
way to the flask or glass, we do everything.”
A new gin was planned for this year,
but it was “cannibalized,” Hoodspith says,
to make hand sanitizer for the community
during the pandemic. One especially
popular creation was an eau de vie, made
blue by adding butterfly pea flower. A
special edition made for St. Jean Baptiste
Day on June 24, it sold out in two days.
“These fun products are an instant
gratification,” said Hoodspith. “They can
be produced any time, winter or summer,
and they can be made really quickly,
compared to wine.”
Another advantage to spirits over
wine in the Quebec market is their
popularity. “There’s less of a stigma on
Quebec spirits than there is on Quebec
wine,” Hoodspith said. “The population as
a whole has embraced the diversity that
local spirits offer in a way that they haven’t
done yet with Quebec wines.”
That’s part of the reason why the
Carone family has sold some of their
biggest tanks and equipment, but the
Carones aren’t giving up on wine. Far
from it.
Rather, they now focus on selling their
products directly to consumers at the
winery, fine grocers and local restaurants.
“In the past, we used to sell tens of
thousands of bottles through the liquor
board, but we’ve stopped. We were putting
so much effort in for so little return. Now
we want to focus on the things that make
us happy to make and sell. Maybe it’s a
midlife crisis,” Hoodspith said with a laugh.
“Or maybe not. But it’s really about making
products that reflect the personality of
the winemaker and the grapes and where
we are.”
Photos courtesy of CARONE Wine + Spirits
WINTER 2021 § POURED CANADA § 15
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