“You’re lucky your first time is in Charlevoix,” says pilot Arnaud Laboisse of . It was the start of my trip to Charlevoix, a region that begins just over an hour’s drive from Quebec City, and I was taking my first helicopter ride for a bird’s-eye view of the crater left by the meteor that created this region 350 million years ago. Laboisse pointed out the 54-kilometre-wide crater’s centre, called Les Éboulements, as we soared over the rolling riverside hills that make up a flavour trail of rich terroir.
Established in 1996, Charlevoix’s Flavour Trail will have you going around in circles. There is no set route for this culinary adventure but rather a map of more than 30 agri-tourism businesses. And this summer, as I spent four days sipping, slurping and otherwise savouring this special stretch of Quebec along the St.
Lawrence River, I discovered how exclusive these products are: Most can only be found within the region. And many producers have no ambitions to sell beyond Charlevoix. The landscape of Quebec’s Charlevoix region.
Also notable is the collaborative nature of the region’s producers — a detail I noticed as I tucked into a hotel dish featuring potatoes with (I had tried the cheese at the family fromagerie the day before), and as I sampled some local mead (I strolled past the beehives that produced the honey that same day). And with every bite or drink, I could taste a dedication to quality over quantity as distinctly as the flavours. When I arr.