Media

Remarks by His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond at the Cuvée Gala 2006

March 4, 2006

I wish to tell you with all sincerity what a pleasure and an honour it is to be with you this evening, after two full days of visiting local vineyards and tasting Ontarian wines.

I come from a culture of wine. During my formative years, the vine was as much a part of my education as literature, geography, sociology, psychology and philosophy.

My grandparents and great-grandparents cultivated the land and made their own wine. And my father tended both his library and his cellar with the same care and passion. He proudly told me that civilization and indeed humanity progressed due in large part to the sharing of knowledge and the exchange of wine. The culture of wine implies a philosophy of sharing – a way of building togetherness while at the same time respecting individual identities.

Over the past few decades, Canada – Ontario and British Columbia in particular and other provinces to a lesser degree – have made great strides in wine production, which has reached its maturity. In my first six months at Rideau Hall, I have had the opportunity to appreciate and to share the quality and diversity of our wines with our guests.

My predecessor, John Ralston Saul put a lot of energy into getting the Rideau Hall cellar off to a good start, filling it exclusively with Canadian VQA wine. We have a wine working group that undertakes its work with enthusiasm and savoir-faire. Claude Lepage, who is with us tonight, is a passionate connoisseur whose wine pairings illuminate each and every meal served at Rideau Hall.

I must add that my wife, Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, is also a wine enthusiast – her appreciation comes from her days as a student in Italy, from where, coincidentally, we returned from an official visit last week.

She would have liked to have been with us for this celebration, and sends warm greetings to you all. She is hopeful that her schedule will permit her to attend this celebration in the future.

Tomorrow, as Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces, she will be in Trenton for the repatriation of Corporal Paul Davis, the Canadian soldier recently killed in Afghanistan.

The next day, she will undertake her first official visit to British Columbia, and from there will fly to Chile to attend the installation of the new Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet.

One of the Governor General’s key functions is to share and promote an understanding of Canada amongst Canadians and to represent Canada abroad. Knowing one’s own wines is an important part of building this understanding. Rideau Hall is the first place foreign dignitaries are welcomed. Our wine is part of such celebrations.

It seems to me that at the same time, it is equally important to develop – sooner rather than later – a better understanding and appreciation of Canadian wine in Canada and to facilitate its distribution and accessibility.

It is impossible to enter the international market without pride in our wine on a national scale.

Take Chile for example. It is a country I know well, and whose wine industry I have followed closely. It grew hand in hand with that country’s national pride in its wine.

Appreciation for Canadian wine has to begin at home before it can be developed with any degree of success abroad.

So, what can I do about this? In this first year of the Governor General’s mandate, we will visit every province and territory. Our goal is to promote wine as a vital part of Canadian culture and identity. At the same time, we will maintain the well-established contacts with the diplomatic corps in Ottawa, and, of course, return to Cuvée in 2007.

I have one final idea that is percolating. The Governor General’s Awards celebrate literature, the performing arts, media arts, architecture and other endeavours that are vital to the cultural fabric of our country. I believe that an award for the culinary arts that also celebrates our wine could easily take its place beside these other awards. The idea merits some thought.