Montreal

Quebec wine truck Chai Vin & Cie hits the road

Imagine sitting in a park, or walking down a path by the canal on a hot summer day, when someone on a bicycle stops to ask you if you'd like some refreshing ice cream. Now imagine that ice cream is wine.

Former ice cream truck gets grape-flavoured makeover

Chai Vin's truck can be reserved for private events, but it doesn't have the permit required to roam around the streets. (Chai Vin et Compagnie)

Imagine sitting in a park, or walking down a path by the canal on a hot summer day, when someone on a bicycle stops to ask you if you'd like some refreshing ice cream. Now imagine that ice cream is wine.

Ghislain Lefebvre showcases the roaming wine bike, the Vélo Vino. (Quebec AM)

This is the concept behind Chai Vin & Cie, Quebec's first wine truck and wine bike. The wine bike, Vélo Vino, can hold up to 16 bottles.

Quebec AM spoke to Clément Roch, co-owner of Chai Vin & Cie, a communications firm that promotes wine.

Roch said the company came up with the idea of a wine truck because it's a good way to talk to people one-on-one. 

According to Roch, the revamped 1988 milk truck is the first wine truck in Canada. However, because of permit issues, it can't currently roam the streets — but it can be rented out for private affairs.

Over the next two months, the truck will be serving exclusively rosés in the Eastern Townships as part of a tourism campaign there.

Wine-truck dreams

Roch hopes that one day his wine truck can travel alongside food trucks, allowing him to offer wine-food pairings. 

"We hope that they'll eventually open the door so that we can have a wine truck, and that we'll be right beside food trucks and to complement them," said Roch.

The truck will be at the Jean-Talon Market on Saturday selling Quebec-made rosés.