Blanketed in snow during the winter months, Vieux Quebec, founded in1608 by Samuel de Champlain, is not only one of the oldest European settlements in North America but also the most charming. Joined by a steep funicular, its upper and lower town are each a warren of cobble-stone streets filled with mansard-roofed stone townhouses from the 17th and 18th centuries, giving it a pleasing architectural harmony. Add to this the original fortified ramparts that still surround the Old Town, and it’s easy to see why it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. In the evening, the view of the lower town --festively lit for Quebec’s annual Winter Carnival--from the upper town's Promenade was enchanting.
    The first, and grandest, of the château-style hotels erected by The Canadian Pacific railroad, the Château Frontenac (now the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac was built to provide travelers with luxurious lodgings on a par with their opulent life style. Often cited as the “most photographed hotel in the world,” this grande dame of Quebec hostelries is celebrating its 125^th anniversary.
    The original hotel as designed by architect Bruce Price, who drew inspiration from the Renaissance chậteaux of the Loire valley, was a true chateau, planned around an inner courtyard, with massive circular turrets and polygonal towers. Renovated many times since its opening in 1893, it still retains an overall harmony with its asymmetrical profile and numerous wings, all with similar steeply pitched roofs, corbels, decorative, two-story dormer windows, tall chimneys and brick-red outer walls of Scottish Glenboig stone, all held together by a tall central tower, added in 1926. The sprawling, fortress-like structure we see today is an imposing reminder of the strategic importance of this site atop Cap-Diamant with its commanding view of the St. Lawrence river at its confluence with the St. Charles.
    The Seven Years’ War fought between France and England for supremacy in Canada ended in a decisive battle in Quebec on the Plains of Abraham, just to the its southwest. where some 1,200 men died and both the French and English generals, Montcalm and Wolfe, were mortally wounded.
    As we turned off the snow-covered Rue St.-Louis, under the arched porte cochere and into the courtyard, through the heavy brass revolving doors of the entrance, I found the warm, welcoming lobby bathed in a golden glow beneath its coffered ceiling. Rich mahogany paneling, fluted pilasters topped with gilded Corinthian capitals, crystal chandeliers, floor-to-ceiling drapes and a gleaming white marble floor and a dramatic double- staircase with an ornamental wrought-iron balustrade.  All give one the feeling of having "arrived" somewhere out of the ordinary, this impression of being a privileged chatelain reinforced by the hotel's capable, efficient staff who fulfilled our every request with grace and alacrity.
    Our room had a comfortable king-size bed, an immaculate marble-clad bathroom, and most of all, a large window overlooking the Dufferin Terrace Promenade, the lower town, and the massive ice floes jamming the St. Lawrence river. What a splendid view, especially at night with the shimmering lights of the town of Levis across the way, and the Québec/Levis ferries threading their way laboriously through the ice-clogged river.
    The hotel's signature restaurant, called simply Champlain (above), has two beautiful wood-paneled dining rooms with a luxurious contemporary feel. One long glass wall is used to display a the best bottles on the wine list. Gorgeous leather arm-chairs surround well-spaced, well-appointed tables. We sat in the upper room, where large windows overlooked the Dufferin Terrace.
    Our waiter suggested the five-course tasting menu ($77), most of which is available separately à la carte. Snow crab from Ste.-Thérèse de Gaspé (right) with pine tree mayonnaise was a simple, refreshing dish as an appetizer, with a flax-seed cracker adding an interesting crunch. Arctic char with mushroom mousse followed. Salmon was cooked sous vide--my least favorite cooking method--which rendered it slightly rubbery and rather bland; a mushroom mousse, and a wild-carrot horseradish fortunately provided some real flavor.   
    Things picked up dramatically with seared foie gras-- crispy on the outside and buttery within-- from Marieville just outside of Montreal--served with marinated Northern fruit: cranberries, blueberries and maple caramelized almonds. Roasted lamb filet with rutabaga puree, hazelnut mushrooms and glazed beets was all together fine. Our dessert was Melilotus panna cotta with bitter chocolate ice cream (left). Melilotus is another name for sweet clover, which gave a delicious hint of new cut grass to the dessert.
    Five wines accompanied the meal: a delicious, uncomplicated Sauvignon Blanc from Domaine de Haut Bourg in the Loire with the crab; a round, flavorful Canadian Chardonnay from Inniskilin with the char; and a luscious, sweet, and slightly botrytized 2010 Sauternes from Château Amajan des Ormes was a perfect accompaniment to the foie gras. Along with the lamb came a 2015 Château Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Red Blend from Washington state, made from seven varietals: Syrah, Merlot, Malbec, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre, and Petit Verdot, that was full-bodied and delicious without being overdone. And with dessert, the justly renowned Vidal Ice Wine from Inniskilin, its luscious sweetness balanced by a fine acidity,  the wine that put Canada on the oenological map.

Appetizers $11-$22, main courses $25-$36, desserts $11-$12. (All prices are in $US.)
    A less formal dining venue is the hotel's Bistro Le Sam, with a brightly lit, spacious lower room and another a couple of steps up.  Here we were given what must be the best seat in the house, a large demi-lune banquette in royal blue set right up against a window with a full view of the Saint Lawrence below. Superb Oysters Rockefeller, just heated through, with spinach and a touch of foie gras for added richness, got lunch off to a splendid start, as did a four-square, satisfying soupe à l'oignon, which the snow drifts outside and the frigid weather–three degrees that day--seemed to call for. Next came a lovely, textbook confit de canard (right) with delicious rösti potatoes, and the day's special, osso bucco (which needed salt) with dense and chewy gnocchi that even the rich brown gravy could not redeem. Le Quebec, a wonderful maple-flavored version of Paris-Brest, and a layered chocolate gâteau with three different intensities of chocolate, brought things to a delicious close.
   
Appetizers $8-21, Mains: $15-$32, desserts $7-$8.

           Dining outside the hotel, one could do no better than to choose L'Initiale (55 rue St.-Pierre, 418-694-1818), located in a former bank building with a rather mercantile, yet monumental exterior. The main dining room (above) at this member of the Relais and Château collection is a chic, understated, contemporary space, and its muted palette and pared-down, elegant décor allow the artfully arrange colorful dishes to stand out in all their glory.
    Overseeing the front of the house is Madame Rolande Leclerc, the epitome of Gallic chic and graciousness, while her husband, Yvan Le Brun, mans the pots and pans in the immaculate kitchen with its small brigade of four chefs.
    At lunch, our dégustation started with foie gras in various guises-- en terrine and as a mousse with warm, freshly made brioche, thin slices of quince, and a small tuile made from the duck juices and reduced to a thin sheet, an ingenious idea that was also delicious. The chef's creativity can be slightly playful, but always with a sureness of touch and a finesse, each plate like a variation on a theme.
    Our next course was shellfish: a roast scallop and morsels of lobster napped with lemon beurre blanc (left), alongside endive, a puree of cauliflower and mullet roe. The shellfish were both perfectly cooked as well as beautifully arranged. A curlicue grissini added a whimsical twist.
    The main course, or Résistance as it's referred to here, was halibut meunière with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and pearl onions. The halibut was simply a marvel. I don't think I've ever had a piece of fish so carefully cooked and delicious, firm yet juicy, tender yet cooked through, and the mushrooms were a savory accessory.
    Desserts were a trio of lemon delights (right), lemon ice cream, super lemony but not astringent, and a sphere of lemon cream in a thin candy shell that was another marvel, as well as candied zest and candied chestnuts, and a chocolate extravaganza, once again with five delicious variations on the main theme, and a scoop of passion fruit ice cream added for contrast.
    This is contemporary haute cuisine at its best, while the attentive Madame Rolande, who lovingly describes the components of each course, and the flawless, seamless service made a memorable meal even more so.
    Lunch was $46, a bargain for food of this caliber, and with it we drank an exemplary 2016 Sancerre Les Caillotes ($12) from Jean Maxime Roger, followed a 2009 Baron des Galets St. Julien ($18) well-balanced, with good structure but still fresh and youthful.

    Chef Jean-Luc Boulay has been delighting guests since 1978 at his signature restaurant Le Saint Amour (48 Rue Sainte-Ursule; 418-694-0067) located in an historic 18th century townhouse in the upper-town. In late January the façade and its window-boxes, still in their holiday finery, were adorned with a profusion of fresh evergreen boughs powdered with snow. We dined in the front, a rather nondescript dining room. If only someone had thought to seat us in the gorgeous backroom, which is part red Belle Epoque salon and part Victorian conservatory.
    Dinner began with a delicious terrine of foie gras (below) sourced from the highly reputed Ferme du Canard goulu in Saint-Apollinaire across the St. Lawrence to the southwest. It was served with candied black currants and grilled brioche. A deceptively simply named Shellfish bisque was a velvety smooth, creamy version with a heavenly aroma and profound flavor. 
    We followed these with sweetbreads and a Turlo Farm squab. The sweetbreads were served with a large wild shrimp, excellent gnocchi and a celeriac puree, all bathed in a delicious creamy sauce based on apple cider with just the slightest bit sweet to complement the subtle sweetness of the ris-de-veau. The squab, from a farm in the tiny hamlet of St. Gervais arrived as a leg confit stuffed with foie gras --talk about gilding the lily- alongside the breast cooked to a precise medium rare, with seared fava beans and wild mushrooms in a rich, deep brown reduction of the bird’s natural juices flavored with the giblets and a bit more foie gras.
    After all this wonderful food, we both shared one dessert, aptly named L'Oasis, comprised of a slice of seared pineapple stop a round of cake, with mascarpone Chantilly cream and a scoop of passion fruit sorbet--the perfect finale, rich yet light, sweet yet thoroughly refreshing.
    We drank a 2015 Morgon from Jean-Paul Brun Domaine des Terres dorées ($53),  one of Beaujolais’ most traditional examples from one of its best vignerons. Now that most red Burgundy has become prohibitively expensive, I’m delighted at what a good, rich, wallet-friendly red wine Gamay--especially in the crus Beaujolais-- can produce when handled with care.

Soups and starters: $14-$28, mains $36-$40, desserts $12.

    Finally, we searched out a wine called Italus, the first Nebbiolo- based wine to come out of Quebec province. Carone Wines, founded by Pietro Carone and since his passing, run by his son Anthony, pioneered the cultivation of vinifera grapes in Quebec in the early 1990’s, and he is now considered an expert in cold-climate grape growing. The 2015, just recently released, is the first vintage of Italus, following on the success of the winery’s cabernet sauvignon and its pinot noir.
    Aged for a year in stainless steel and then for an additional one in medium toast French oak, the wine is all about youthful exuberance. In the glass, Italus is a vivid, limpid, ruby-red color, with a nose of bright red fruits with a touch of smoke and spice; the red cherry flavors are pronounced without being sweet. Bright acidity gives it freshness; an overlay of sweet smoke softens the edges, and fine-grained tannins introduce the finish. This delicious, medium-bodied wine begs for food to show at its best; it’s also a bargain at $23.

    It’s said about California wines that the only reason to know the vintage date of a bottle is to figure out who made the wine at a particular winery, since the California weather is more stable than the position of winemaker, who are often “drafted and signed” by facilities like prized sports figures.
    Whether that’s fact or merely witticism, the situation with the quality and quantity of wine from a particular vintage in France, particularly in Burgundy, is certainly more dependent on the vagaries of the year-to-year changes in weather, with the same winemaker at the same facility for long periods of time. With that in mind, the Wine Media Guild (a New York-based organization of professional wine communicators) sought to determine the quality of the 2015 vintage of Burgundy with a luncheon tasting at Manhattan’s Il Gattopardo of 14 whites and an equal number of  reds from a widespread range of Burgundian locales.
    Overall, the consensus was that this was an excellent year for Burgundian wines, with the whites ready to drink now or in the next few years, since the climactic conditions generally produced ripe, full-flavored Chardonnay grapes with less acidity than found in a number of other recent harvests. On the other hand, these same weather conditions also allowed the Pinot Noir to ripen fully, yielding red wines best to consume a few years from now and expected to be quite long-lasting. Unfortunately, these days most good Burgundies are not geared to the faint of wallet, so in order to guide consumers about purchasing these wines, the following are my notes on what I considered the top ten bottles presented.

Whites

Château Fuissé Pouilly-Fuissé “Les Clos” Propriatire Récolant  ($64)—Made from Chardonnay grapes grown on a vineyard with vines dating to 1929, this wine had a bouquet and rich taste of apples and honey with notes of almonds and hints of apricots and orange in its long finish. It’s an ideal white to mate with risotto or roasted chicken.  

Bouchard Père & Fils Chevalier Montrachet 1er Cru ‘La Cabotte’ ($560)—While a bit much for most pocketbooks, this memorable wine is aesthetically a cut or two above many of the 2015 white Burgundies. It has a distinctive bouquet and taste of pears with hints of marzipan and a touch of lime in its vibrant finish. Expect it to drink well with the likes of lobster, scallops, or tuna tartare for the next 5-10 years. 

William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros “Côte Bouguerots” ($98)—This full-bodied wine, with a bouquet and taste of peaches and citrus, has a crisp, fruity finish perfect to pair with seafare, especially grilled dorade or branzino.

Maison Joseph Drouhin, Chassagne Montrachet, 1er Cru “Les Embazées ($90)—Grapes for this wine hailed from vineyards noted for a complex soil of limestone and clay. Following harvest this wine was fermented using natural yeast and aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. It has a bouquet and taste of apples with undertones of honeysuckle and hazelnuts and should drink well over the next 10 years with ripe cheeses and grilled seafare, particularly swordfish or tuna. 

Domaine Laroche 1er Cru Les Vaillons Vielles Vignes Chablis ($41)—Very well priced for a Premier Cru Chablis, this wine is made from grapes grown in a vineyard composed of fossilized oyster shells. It shows a bouquet and taste of apples and peaches with notes of apricots and zesty lemon in its finish. Unlike many 2015 Chablis, this wine contains enough acidity to age well and pairs perfectly with bivalves or shellfish.

Reds

Bouchard Père & Fils Nuits-St-George 1er Cru ‘Les Cailles’ ($108)—This wine shows a fragrant bouquet and taste of ripe berries, with hints of oak and earthy spices. And, while lighter in taste than many other Nuit-St-George reds, it harmoniously matches with lamb or veal and is expected to gain complexity with a few years of bottle age. 

Domaine de Bellene, Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Cinquantenaire ($90)—This blend of grapes from five different premier cru Beaune vineyards shows a bouquet and taste of plums with notes of ripe cherries and toasty oak. A bit young to drink now (although it marries well with grilled lamb or beef), expect this wine to become more complex and elegant with 5-10 years of bottle age. 

Louis Latour Gevrey-Chambertin ($80)—Made from hand-picked Pinot Noir grown on 30-year-old vines in vineyards noted for chalk and limestone soil, this wine was aged for a year in oak barrels following fermentation. It has a distinct bouquet and taste of black currants with notes of anise and a smooth finish that mates well with grilled chicken or ripe cheeses. 

Vincent Giradin, Santenay, Terre d’Enfance ($34)—A good bargain, this hand-harvested Pinot Noir grown in limestone-rich soil has a bouquet and taste of fresh strawberries and plums with hints of almonds in its smooth finish. It makes a good wine to match with summertime barbecue, especially grilled ribs, chicken or hamburgers. 

Domaine Antonin Guyon, Savigny-Les-Beaunes ‘Les Goudelettes’ ($40)—This well-priced wine was made from hand-harvested Pinot Noir fermented over 15 days in open vats and aged in oak barrels (15% new) over 15 months. It shows a fruity bouquet and taste of ripe plums and blueberries with a long, smooth finish that matches well with duck or grilled pork.