Author of the article: Nadine Robinson
Published Sep 27, 2024
The cork pop from the bottle echoed in the private tasting room in Canada’s premier sparkling wine house as the head winemaker gave us the lowdown on the traditional method sparkling we were about to enjoy.
I was transfixed watching yet another special vintage poured lovingly into our glasses, sure that I could almost feel the way the wine licked up the side of the glass before settling in the bottom to reveal its delicate bubbles.
I wasn’t in British Columbia nor Niagara, or Prince Edward County. I was in Canada’s oldest wine region in Nova Scotia at Benjamin Bridge winery.
When I was invited last minute to join a press trip to experience the wine regions of Nova Scotia, I’ll admit that I was hesitant. I worried that it would be a week of me making the face we’ve all perfected at Christmas when we don’t like a present that we’ve been given and don’t want to offend anyone.
That said, knowing that Nova Scotia has some of the best seafood in the world, and that I would be travelling with one of my favourite people, I quickly repacked my suitcase from my Philadelphia trip and found myself in Halifax checking into the gorgeous Muir hotel.
After meeting my German and Japanese counterparts over a lobster roll, we boarded a J Farwell Sailing Company sailboat for a wine-and-cheese sail. Our indoctrination into the area’s wines started off strong, with a crisp, fruity Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 sparkling white. No Christmas face was required as the lychee and citrus bubbles danced along my taste buds.
Meal after meal, winery after winery, there was no doubt that I’d been missing out with my lack of knowledge of Nova Scotia wines. Even Gordon Ramsay has a Nova Scotia Sparkler on his wine list, and yet I was completely oblivious to anything other than the phenomenal lobster and clams in the area. Flying under the radar for too long, our host Pam wanted the world to know what she was about to show us.
Did you know that Nova Scotia has been growing grapes since the 1600s? Pam wouldn’t confirm that the province was the first area to cultivate grapes in North America, but there was no evidence to the contrary by the end of our trip, either.
We visited Bear River winery, to see the region in which Louis Hebert, the apothecary at The Habitation in Port Royal, planted a hillside vineyard in 1611. He loaded his canoe with vines from France, and so it began. We experienced the Port-Royal National Historic Site to learn about the Order of Good Cheer, the continent’s first dinner club, created by Samuel de Champlain in 1606, to raise the morale of his men suffering through their first winter in The Habitation.
And while Newfoundland was called Vinland by the Vikings, and Jacques Cartier found wild grapes growing along the St. Lawrence, Pam noted that Nova Scotia’s Bear River area is the first reference to European vines planted in what would become Canada.
We got to taste a new exciting varietal of grape being cultivated at the Kentville Agricultural Research and Development Centre. I was amused to learn that L’Acadie Blanc was considered a ‘garbage grape’ in Ontario, but is the centrepiece of the Nova Scotia wine industry now, reminding us that you really just need to find your people in life. You may not be appreciated in some places, but that doesn’t mean you have to change, you may simply need to change where you put down your roots to truly shine.
Our hosts explained that it is the extreme tides of the Bay of Fundy washing in and out of the Annapolis Basin and upstream to Bear River that mitigate extremes in weather and temperature, which make for an excellent growing season.
We were educated about Tidal Bay, the region’s signature wine. The appellation was launched in 2012, reflecting its terroir, and pairing perfectly with rich, local seafood. Like any good education, it is one thing to read about its crisp, lively, aromatic nature, but so much better to experience it. We raised a glass and Pam cheered out: “Sociable!” (as a proper Nova Scotian should).
Her trip notes state that “to obtain the Tidal Bay designation, all wines must be made from specific grape varieties, include 100 per cent Nova Scotia-grown grapes, follow a strict set of standards, and be approved every year by an independent blind tasting panel.” One of those standards is that the majority of the final blend must be made from local L’Acadie Blanc, Seyval, Vidal and/or Geisenheim 318 grapes. Another is that Tidal Bay wines must be no more than 11 per cent alcohol. Pam says that there are now 14 Tidal Bays available in Nova Scotia.
We were lucky to have Tidal Bay several times, including at the spectacular tastings and meals at Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards, and Le Caveau @ Domaine de Grand Pre Winery. Each winery stood out for their entrepreneurship, family orientation, and in addition, Benjamin Bridge winery shone with their sustainability practices including a B-Corp Certification.
Somehow, with all that drinking and eating, we still managed to squeeze in a bunch of history, including learning about the resilience of Les Acadians, through visiting Grand-Pré National Historic Site. We also slipped off our shoes to glide along the silky slate at Kejimkujik National Park & National Historic Site to learn about the Mi’kmaq and see some of their petroglyphs. I also plunged into the Bay of Fundy with my adventurous friend to experience the magical tides first hand.
Whether you visit Nova Scotia for the seafood, historical sites, salt of the ocean people, or their 13,000 kilometres of seacoast, make sure you try their appellation Tidal Bay. It’s time that everyone knew about Canada’s oldest wine region.
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Nadine Robinson’s column runs Saturdays. You can reach her at the.ink.writer@gmail.com or on twitter, Facebook, and Instagram