Véronique Rivest is the most decorated wine professional Canada has produced — ranked second in the world at the 2013 Sommelier World Championship, a two-time Canadian champion, and the kind of person who could be working in Paris or New York and has chosen instead to operate a wine bar in Gatineau, Quebec, directly across the Chaudière Bridge from Parliament Hill.
Soif is what that choice produces. The weekly-rotating list focuses entirely on organic and biodynamic bottles from producers Rivest has visited and vetted personally. The staff — trained in her image — teach rather than sell: a glass ordered here comes with enough context that you leave understanding something you didn't when you arrived. The small plates menu is designed to make the drinking better rather than to fill time between pours.
Technically in Gatineau, not Ottawa. Categorically irrelevant. The walk across the bridge is ten minutes from the ByWard Market, and Soif is the most serious wine destination in the National Capital Region regardless of which provincial tax code the bill falls under. Any visitor serious about wine should cross the river.
