Sommelier pairs B.C. wine, beer, cider, and spirits with local meal-delivery program
Tractor At Home is changing the experience of ready-to-eat meals by teaming up with Maude Renaud-Brisson
Maude Renaud-Brisson sees wine as a way to learn about different cultures.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE pairings are typically highlighted at certain restaurants, not within home meal-delivery programs. A local company is changing that by bringing a sommelier onboard, and the focus is purely local.
Sommelier Maude Renaud-Brisson is now overseeing the drinks side of things for Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods’ Tractor At Home meal-delivery service.
The founder of Apéro Mode—which, pre-pandemic, focused on wine events then pivoted to wine delivery through monthly curated wine packs—first fell in love with wine for the way it is an entryway to discovering cultures and getting to know people from all over the map.
“I have always been someone who loves people, travelling, and definitely can’t sit still,” Renaud-Brisson tells Stir. “Anyone who has met me also knows how food is literally all I talk about. Add wine into the mix and I was completely hooked; I had to keep learning as much as possible. Working in the wine industry also allows you to easily connect with like-minded people around the world and get an insight into their culture and traditions. Having worked over 10 years in the wine industry, I cannot think of any other career that combines all my interests and fully embraces my hedonistic approach to life.”
Tractor, which has several bricks-and-mortar locations throughout Metro Vancouver, branched out to meal boxes for home delivery late last year, to overwhelming response. It adds new items each week, including seasonal dishes. The company uses sustainable seafood, antibiotic- and hormone-free proteins, and produce from local farms.
Before joining Tractor, Renaud-Brisson, took time “off” last summer to work in the production side of the wine industry; she spent a few of weeks in the vineyards at Tantalus winery in Kelowna then a couple of months in the cellar for harvest at Le Vieux Pin winery in the South Okanagan. “I can officially say I am not cut out for it, but it was a real highlight in my wine journey thus far,” she says.
Renaud-Brisson, who has worked as a sommelier at Nightingale and Chambar, among other restaurants, is known for taking an unpretentious approach to the world of wine. With Tractor At Home, she’s pairing food not just with B.C. wine but also local craft beer, ciders, and spirits.
That might mean a dry cider in place of wine to have alongside a cheese and charcuterie, Renaud-Brisson says, or a bottle of local Gamay Noir—which she recommends chilling for added freshness—for one of its salmon dishes.
“As far as pairing, we get a little more specific with our bi-weekly featured beverages; the highlighted wine, beer, or cider comes with a full printed description about the producer’s story, the bottle itself, and a specific pairing,” Renaud-Brisson says. “My favourite one so far has been the Meyer [Family Vineyards’] ‘Mclean Creek Rd’ Chardonnay 2019 with our wild mushroom risotto.
“Our approach is to have a small, curated list rather than have everything available in a typical store,” she says. “I think that we can easily source an exciting, concise selection within B.C., and it important now more than ever to support the producers in our own backyard.”
Food and wine pairings are on the menu at Tractor At Home.
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