Inventing the cocktail menu for a new bar sounds as awesome as you’d imagine. There’s trial and error, adding a little bit of this, taking away a little of that and sampling the efforts to get the taste exactly right. “We probably had three or four sessions trying to come up with these cocktails,” says […]
local wine
Posted inFood + Drink
Nova Scotia winemakers are seeing red
It pools in deep garnet and edges the glass in bright purple, nearly magenta. A swirl releases stewed blackberries, ripe blueberries, pickled red pepper and the smoke and salt of a beach fire. A touch to the lips is a laser of acidity that melts over the tongue, and the mouth is awake and ready […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
DRINK THIS: Planters Ridge’s Infatuation
Planters Ridge, still a new kid on the wine block in Nova Scotia, has been releasing an array of clean, innovative, high-quality wines since opening in 2014. It seems the winery nails it every season with at least one wine, and in very competitive categories— last year Planters Ridge made my favourite Tidal Bay by […]
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Avondale Sky Winery gets intimate and interactive
Discover Our Vineyard Secrets Avondale Sky Winery, 80 Avondale Cross Road, Newport Landing Sat March 31, 2-7pm Winemaker for a Day Sat April 14, 2-7:30pm Late one Monday morning in the middle of March, as a few snowflakes made their way hesitantly to the earth, I left home, driving west along Highway 215, following the […]
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Four local wines to hunt down
Lesley Quinn, sommelier at The Barrington Steakhouse & Oyster BarDrink of choice: 2015 Mercator Sauvage Sur Lie “It’s one of the first white wines in Nova Scotia that I feel has shown real complexity. I love Tidal Bay, it’s easy to drink and delicious, but this has texture, minerality— it’s just got a lot going […]
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Orderly conduct
It happens more than you’d like to admit—you’re trying to make a good impression when you’re handed the wine list and the anxiety begins. What do I order? How do I say it? Can I pick something without looking like a total idiot? Thankfully Heather Rankin, sommelier and co-owner of Obladee, A Wine Bar, is […]
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Port of Wine Festival toasts two decades
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Port of Wines Festival, and they’re celebrating in style. “For the past 20 years we’ve focused on a single country,” says Tim Pellerin, the NSLC’s vice-president, marketing and merchandising, “where about 20 to 25 percent of wine was from the country of origin.” This year, the four […]
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Just try me: local wines to drink this fall
Domaine de Grand Pré, Haskap Sparking Wine $23.75 Haskap, a berry native to our province, gives this wine just a hint of body and sweetness. Made in the traditional Champagne method, this is a wine versatile enough to span whatever fall feast you have up your sleeve. “This wine is about as Nova Scotian as […]
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The Tidal’s high
While the Nova Scotia wine scene has traditionally been a straggler when it comes to fame and accolades, our first official wine appellation, Tidal Bay, has managed to turn that all around in a matter of only a few years. A blissfully aromatic white wine that hovers around 11 percent, it ranges from sharp, crisp […]
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The big cheese
1. Quark, from Fox Hill Cheese House A tangy, eastern European spreadable cheese Beatrice Stutz is playful with the quark, mixing it with chocolate and serving it with Grand Pré’s Dolce Vita Red Dessert Wine, while L’Acadie’s Bruce Ewert suggests either his Vintage Cuvée Rose or Prestige Brut. Benjamin Bridge’s Jean-Benoit Deslauriers is also a proponent […]