For a diversification plan like Denis Perrault’s, be sure to look in unexpected places, and leave your cellphone at home
His friends all reassured him that it was good, but Denis Perrault grimaces as he describes the first batch of wine. “It was terrible.”
With a pat on the shoulder, he hands me a glass of not-so-terrible red wine. Then he offers my kids a cookie and takes a seat on his winery patio to tell me about his business, Domaine Perrault winery.
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Nothing is pretentious here. Certainly not the low-key Perrault, who jokingly refers to the full-bodied red wine as an evening wine, and the lighter red as an afternoon wine. The white wines are named after family members. It’s all very down-to-earth — and it must be good for business because, as we chat, carloads of customers drive in and then leave a short time later with clinking boxes full of bottles.
Perrault seems to derive a lot of enjoyment from his winery. It’s no surprise. The wine goes down easily, and the patio, overhung by large trees, has a sweeping view of the surrounding fields.
Perrault, his wife Lyse, and daughters Anne and Dominique own Domaine Perrault. Anne and Dominique focus on public relations, while Lyse manages paperwork. Denis looks after the vines and involves himself in the winemaking. And they all help in the store.
The winery isn’t their mainstay though: Dominique is a high school teacher, Anne a chartered accountant, and Denis and Lyse are dairy farmers.
Perrault laughs when I ask if he’s on an agricultural mission. The former president of the Ontario Soil and Crop
