On The Road – Winter Wren – North of Quebec City (part 1 of 3)

Our first stay on the Isle was at a lovely B&B run by an older couple (who I think since have retired). Breakfast was a four course affair consisting of a smoothie, an appetizer, main course ,and dessert – all delicious, artfully presented and of appropriate portion sizes so as not to leave one over-full. Here is a photo of the appetizer – a “fruit pizza”. The coffee here was so delicious, that we asked the proprietor how it was made. The answer that came back was: local water, quality beans freshly ground, and the right machine. Then he brought out the machine itself – a Jura automatic coffee maker. When we got home, we bought one ourselves and have been using that to make our coffee since.

We had dinner on that first trip at a wonderful inn: Auberge La Goeliche. The dining room has stunning views of the river and Quebec city at the southern tip of the island. We have stayed here on all future visits to the island. Unfortunately, the pandemic saw them pare back the restaurant hours so that it no longer serves breakfast – only lunch and dinner now.

Here is the exterior of La Goeliche at sunrise, taken on our most recent visit.

We also had dinner that first visit at this interesting restaurant Le Moulin de Saint Laurent, which is nestled against the steep hillside near the shore as well as this small cascading brook. This restaurant is very popular as a cruise ship side trip – several bus loads came in as we were dining to completely fill the place.

Here is the view from the southernmost tip of the island toward Quebec city. There is heavy shipping traffic on the Saint Lawrence in general. For myself, I never tire of watching a large freighter like this going by. You can also see 2 different cruise ships docked at Quebec city.

Fast forwarding to our last visit 2 years ago, these next four photos were taken on a morning biking circuit of the southern quarter of the island. I had to stop multiple times to take pictures of the scenery. The wildflowers along the side of the road were particularly eye-catching.

The apples were starting to form in this orchard along the way. The ciderie here makes excellent cidre. We often take home multiple bottles for later consumption.

There are also vineyards on the island. Here is one behind a cultivated field (possibly rapeseed?). The wines made on the island are so-so generally, with whites being decidedly more drinkable than reds in my opinion.

Another orchard/ciderie, along with these somewhat kitschy props for the tourists.

A must-stop on any visit to the island is Cassis Monna et Filles. Here they make excellent black currant wines and liqueurs. There is an ice cream shop and restaurant (“La Monnaguette”) upstairs and a tasting room downstairs, as well as a small museum in another building – all worth visiting. The restaurant has views of the bridge to the island and serves a luncheon menu mid-day. Each dish on the menu incorporates currants in some way. The sangria (incorporating black currant wine of course) is a perfect accompaniment to a meal, and a soft-serve vanilla+black currant twist from the ice cream shop is the required dessert for us.