A New Generation of Outstanding Women Winemakers

By Laurence-Michèle Dufour

We’re currently witnessing history in the making for Québec wines. Vignoble de l’Orpailleur, Domaine des Côtes d’Ardoise and Vignoble de La Bauge have all crossed a major milestone by celebrating over 40 years of existence. Today, with trends rapidly evolving, these groundbreaking pioneers are slowly making room for a new generation of winemakers. In fact, we’re observing this change happening at Domaine du Ridge and at Maison Agricole Joy Hill.

A Legacy from Father to Daughter

Marie-Florence Crevier-Paradis is part of a small handful of young Quebecers who had the chance to grow up on a vineyard. Domaine du Ridge in Saint-Armand, founded by her father Denis Paradis 30 years ago, has become one of Québec’s major producers. She’s now at the helm of an estate counting more than 150,000 vines and a seasonal team of nearly 30 employees.

In the early days, Denis made wine simply for the pleasure of it, welcoming family and friends to come help with the first harvests. It was always a festive event for everyone who came. At the end of the day, we’d empty the barn to set up a few tables and chairs and share a big BBQ supper.

Marie-Florence Crevier-paradis

Before her studies led her away from the family nest, this young woman took on just about every student job available at the vineyard: customer service in the boutique, bottling by hand, and manual labelling… All this while listening to the Backstreet Boys. At that time, nothing indicated that she would one day choose viticulture as a profession. After all, it was just a weekend hobby that allowed her to spend time with her dad, who was then still a practising lawyer and a federal MP.

Once she had her bachelor’s degree in psychology and a second one in communications in hand, and just as she was about to tackle her master’s, Denis asked her to come lend a hand at the vineyard following the departure of a key employee. She never left. Marie-Florence jokingly says, “I enjoy telling people that my two degrees are very practical: the first to talk to my father, and the second to better understand him!” Indeed, she often had to stand her ground to promote her more modern, eco-friendly vision of agriculture. She still consults him on major strategic decisions and operations management, but Denis has stepped back to let the next generation take over.

Backed by her dedicated team, Marie-Florence has spared no effort over the last few years to transition the estate to organic farming, earning its certification in August 2025. “For us, it was crucial to strengthen the vines through this process while keeping interventions in the cellar to an absolute minimum. These changes truly reflect our values—what we give back to the earth and what we put into our bodies,” explains the winemaker, who’s also a mother of four young children. This approach feels entirely natural to her in these uncertain times for the planet. By questioning every step of production—from harvesting and pressing methods to using native yeasts during vinification—the team continues to innovate, aiming to let the vines fully express themselves while respecting the vineyard’s heritage.

Although she’s interested in biodynamics and continues to familiarize herself with natural wines, Marie-Florence doesn’t want to make a radical shift that could alienate her loyal, more traditional clientele. Therefore, while the vineyard continues to offer its classic cuvées, the estate introduced its new colourfully labelled selections a couple of years ago to showcase its more unconventional wines. Furthermore, for the second consecutive year, a partnership with Lieux Communs—a nomadic, collaborative vinification project—has allowed the team to exchange ideas and draw fresh inspiration from young winemakers well rooted in this world. Clearly, with the wind in her sails and plenty of ideas in her head, this winemaker surely has many more surprises in store for us.

A Sense of European Pride

As for Justine Therrien, of Maison Agricole Joy Hill in Frelighsburg, she wasn’t born among the vines, but was able to rely on the experience of the Québec winemakers, who preceded her when she set down her roots to outline her own story with her partner, Julien Niquet. Searching for a place offering the ideal soil to grow grapes, the young couple became totally smitten by the land they found atop the well-known Joy Hill, which they purchased in 2017. Two years later, they planted 37,000 vines here.

“I was mostly familiar with European vineyards. The name we gave our place, Maison Agricole Joy Hill, is inspired by Italy’s aziende agricole. We thought it was truly amazing how wine tourism was so highly valued and deeply rooted in European culture, whereas it was just emerging here,” notes Justine, who worked for wine import agencies in Montréal after completing her sommelier training. Although at first, she and her better half dreamed of an inn and a farm-to-table dining experience on this enchanting site, provincial bureaucracy quickly put a damper on their project. “This was clear proof of how naïve we were! We thought we could become winemakers, build an inn, and hire staff, all while trying to learn more about Québec’s vineyards!” she adds, laughing.

It was when they tasted wine produced by Les Pervenches (a Farnham vineyard focusing on European grape varieties and biodynamics for more than 25 years) that the couple had a Eureka moment! They now had the confirmation that their decision to choose Vitis Vinifera grapes to craft their natural wines was the right choice. They held this vision close to their hearts and defended their position from the very start.

There were already plenty of growers working with hybrid grapes. As for us, we were interested in European varieties, and therefore focused our efforts on Vinifera grapes.

Justine therrien

Even though the route they chose took them far off the beaten path, Justine insists that she holds the highest respect for those who paved the way before her. “You really had to believe, make do with what you had, and invent your own techniques. They were true pioneers who worked relentlessly to develop their product.” Although their estate rapidly gained success and recognition from the province’s sommeliers, the entrepreneurial couple still has a great thirst for new challenges.

In order to diversify their venture and to counter all kinds of weather challenges that could impact some of their vintages, Justine and Julien also launched Pastoral, a wine merchant project that involves vinifying grapes purchased from other growers to ensure a more consistent yield. They also acquired Club Kombucha and, under that same banner, created Club Électro, an electrolyte beverage for athletes. This has allowed them to expand their customer base. This summer, the team is also launching a line of low-alcohol wines and ready-to-drink beverages featuring Québec flavours, in collaboration with Ferme Rizen in Frelighsburg, keeping everyone well hydrated.

However, the heart of these many ventures undoubtedly remains the wines of Maison Agricole Joy Hill. Their many other projects orbit around this core, ensuring sustainability, happiness, and vitality for these two passionate creators, who show no signs of slowing down!

***

Although they come from completely different backgrounds, for Marie-Florence Crevier-Paradis and Justine Therrien, their love of the land and their search for a balanced lifestyle, both within their teams and in their families, are at the heart of their priorities. Diversifying their activities, whether through low-intervention collaborative cuvées, micro wine merchant projects, or innovative beverages, is key to their resilience in the face of tomorrow’s challenges.

Through their audacity, respect for tradition, and ecological awareness, they infuse vibrant new energy into Québec’s winemaking industry. They prove beyond a doubt that the future of our terroirs is being written today, driven by a passionate new generation that isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of what is possible, one bottle at a time.