The Val Caudalies vineyard continues to make its mark on the international scene. The winery has just won gold and silver at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition with its “sweet” and “dry” vermouths produced in Dunham. An important reward that makes us forget the worries of the pandemic, according to Guillaume Leroux, one of the founders of the vineyard.
The two products decorated at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition are the dry Lab Val Caudalies vermouth (silver) and the sweet Lab Val Caudaliesvermouth (gold). Recall that in 2017, the sweet vermouth won bronze at the same international meeting.
With these new international honors in hand, the Dunham winemaker and his associates feel more prepared than ever to take their rightful place in the SAQ spirits market.
“In our store at the vineyard where we welcome nearly 40,000 visitors a year, the competition is not there. It’s our products. People taste them, like them and buy them. But at the SAQ, the competition is there and for us to have a medal on the bottle, it helps get the product out there.”
Developed in collaboration with the Montreal bar Le Lab, the Val Caudalies spirits are concocted from white wine spiced with wormwood and herbs.
“Every vermouth has its signature, but it’s always hard to dislodge big names like Cinzano and Martini. What we do is completely different. People have to taste it to discover it, and once they’ve discovered it, consumers are loyal,” said Leroux.