From unique wineries, incredible views and delicious bites along the way. Here’s why you need to do a Pontiac Wine & Cider Tour with Aventure Outaouais.
Who is Aventure Outaouais?
Aventure Outaouais is an all-inclusive tour company highlighting underappreciated attractions in the Outaouais region. With Aventure Outaouais, you can rest assured knowing you’ll be treated to a unique experience and definitely learn something new about the Outaouais region. These tours also do everything they can to minimize their environmental footprint and support local economies so you can feel good about your participation.
Operating solely in the Outaouais region outside the National Capital Region, Aventure Outaouais offers a variety of all-inclusive tours featuring the “hiddenest of gems”. With little research, you can be guaranteed a day exploring some of the phenomenal and less well-known attractions around Ottawa. You can also feel good about participating in this tour knowing that you’re supporting local rural economies.
Why You Need to Do A Tour With Aventure Outaouais
Not only will Aventure Outaouais bring you to some incredible locations, but they also make the adventure easy. Your tour includes pick-up/drop-off in downtown Ottawa/Gatineau, all transportation between stops, all tastings/food, snacks along the way and an awesome guide. It’s a great opportunity to dive deeper into regions near Ottawa on a fun day trip.
Pontiac Wine & Cider Tour with Aventure Outaouais
Aventure Outaouais takes care of everything. With excellent information packages sent ahead of time and a variety of pick-up locations in Ottawa and Gatineau, your tour is sure to get off to a good start. On our way to the Outaouais, our guide Brandon, shared some history of the region and our itinerary for the day. Brandon also created a great atmosphere with excellent tunes and a good sense of humour. The drive through the Outaouais was scenic, and before we knew it, we’d arrived at our first stop.
I was able to attend the Pontiac Wine and Cider Tour in May and had a blast. Aventure Outaouais sent out excellent information packets before the tour, so we knew exactly what to expect. We were picked up at the Lord Elgin downtown by our guide and driver to head out to the Outaouais. On the drive, the guide shared the history of the region, an overview of our day and some fun facts. Our guide for the day was Brandon, and he also provided excellent dad jokes and great tunes throughout the day. The drive is scenic, and before we knew it, we were arriving at our first stop.
Stop 1: Domaine de Pontiac Village
Domaine de Pontiac Village is so much more than a winery. After receiving our first tasting, we got to spend time exploring the antique cars and a small museum exhibit. We then headed out to see the vines and learn about the types of grapes that can be grown in Canada. As the summer progresses, the grapes will start growing, and the vines will be even more beautiful, so I recommend going a bit later in the season. Another highlight at this stop was interacting with the pigs and chickens who live at the winery.
The Vines at Domaine de Pontiac Village. Photo by Torie Wotton.
Stop 2: Coronation Hall Cider Mill
Coronation Hall was the only cider mill of the day, and it did not disappoint! While sipping our drinks, we learned all about how cider is made and saw the gigantic crates of apples. At this stop, we got our first snack of the day – a slice of delicious homemade apple pie with freshly pressed apple juice. I really enjoyed this stop!
In addition to the amazing food and drinks, we got to experience Coronation Hall itself. A beautiful dance hall full of history, Coronation Hall is a great place to learn more about the region. A unique aspect of our tour was a stop at the apple orchard. This isn’t a typical stop on the tour, but since it was in full bloom, it was added to our itinerary. This illustrates how Aventure Outaouais is really committed to providing the best possible experience.
Coronation Hall. Photo by Torie Wotton.
Stop 3: Little Red Wagon
Little Red Wagon was probably my favourite stop on this tour. The unique aspect of this stop was that we had our only wine pairings of the day. Each of our three tastings was paired with an amazing appetizer-size snack, and every single one was scrumptious. We were also served a charcuterie board to snack on. The winery itself was beautiful, and I really enjoyed our time here. You can also visit in the fall to help harvest the grapes, which I think would be another fun way to experience the winery.
Little Red Wagon. Photo by Torie Wotton
Stop 4: Les Collins
The last stop of the day was Les Collins, a winery looking out at the Eardley Escarpment. We felt like we were in the South of France as we took in the view and enjoyed our wine. At this stop, we got to see the vats where the wine is stored while it’s maturing and learn about the wine-making process. This was really interesting to learn about firsthand. We also took a walk up to the vines, which was a great location for photos.
View at Les Collins. Photo by Torie Wotton.
Bites Along the Way
Everything that I ate on this tour was amazing! There were snacks in the van to eat as we were driving, the apple pie, the pairing snacks and the charcuterie board. The information packet provided before the tour suggested making sure you eat a good meal before the tour, and I highly recommend that you do eat right before your departure.
Aventure Outaouais was also excellent at accommodating my friend, who is both gluten and dairy free. We let them know in advance of the tour, and they were able to provide an option for her at each stop.
Charcuterie at Little Red Wagon. Photo by Torie Wotton.
I hope this inspires you to take a tour with Aventure Outaouais this summer and expand your horizons around Ottawa! The full offering of tours can be viewed and booked here. Thank you to Aventure Outouais for the invitation. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
More adventures:
Torie is a policy analyst who loves to write and travel. Recently graduated from the University of Ottawa, Torie is excited to invest some of her new free time into both of these hobbies by writing for Little Miss Ottawa!
Torie has loved adventures and trying new things for a long time. Family trips both close to home and abroad fostered this mentality and set the stage for future adventures both big and small. Moving to Ottawa from Manitoba gave Torie the opportunity to explore a new area in depth and emphasized the fact that every day can be an adventure if you bring the right mind set.
When she’s not out on an adventure, Torie can be found at the rink practicing with her synchronized skating team or coaching skating.
Find me on: Instagram
