The quest continues to find great weekend adventures that allow us to remain social distanced (and bring our new puppy along). I would never think to visit a winery near Montreal with kids in tow but our recent trip to La Bullerie proved to be the perfect family-friendly destination.

Picnic Perfection

La Bullerie is located in Saint Joseph sur le Lac. It is a 40-minute drive from the city, with a multitude of apple orchards along the way. Nestled atop a hill, this small winery has been open for a few years but has adapted due to Covid-19.

Reserve ahead of time to claim your picnic spot, available Friday to Sunday between 11am-2pm. A picnic basket for two includes a bottle of wine, baguette, cheese, nuts, meats, olives and more. We opted for two of the kids’ meals ($15 each) and a Margherita pizza made in the outdoor pizza oven. The staff was super accommodating in swapping the ham from the kids’ plate with some delicious grilled veggies. The sparkling, non-alcoholic cider was the perfect thirst quencher.

Socially Distanced Seating

Tons of seating is available with outdoor picnic tables near the grape vines or higher up on the hill, nestled in the woods. We opted for the latter to keep our distance from others. We arrived at 12pm and it was quite busy by 1pm, so arrive early to avoid large crowds.

If we didn’t have the kids and an afternoon plan, we would have tried out the wine tasting. Instead we decided to purchase a bottle of crisp white wine to take home with us.

Day Tripping

After our meal, we walked the grounds amid grape vines and apple trees. We were planning on heading to Oka National Park to go swimming after our visit but unfortunately didn’t buy our tickets in time and it was sold out. Instead, we took the long way home on the Oka-Hudson ferry.

If you want to make a true day trip out of a visit to La Bullerie, I would suggest waiting a few weeks to visit and coupling it with an apple picking adventure at one of the nearby orchards. A winery near Montreal and a bushel of apples sounds like the perfect day trip to me!