Sandals season isn’t completely over (so sue me) but technically fall has arrived—it’s just about time to wear rust-coloured sweaters, eat tiny chocolate bars and avoid turning the thermostat up. As the slow-cooker meals and blended soups start to trickle their way into our minds and onto our weekly menus, we reached out to three […]
Nova Scotia wine
Posted inNews + Opinion
DRINK THIS: Domaine de Grande Pré’s Moscato
September is good for crowding enjoyment into late summer days, much in the same way that the Bay of Fundy’s rising tidal waters push beach-goers together onto shrinking patches of sunlit shore. Domaine de Grand Pré‘s Moscato ($25), launched in the height of summer this year, is my choice of wine to accompany the glow […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Winegrunt brings the buzz
Winegrunt grand opening 43 Water Street, Windsor Sunday, July 14, 12-8pm Something new is greeting visitors to Nova Scotia wine country: A wine bar run by former university professors, in an unlikely town, with an entirely sensible location. “So many times, we stopped in Windsor,” says Robert Buranello, of trips to the Annapolis Valley from […]
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Weathering the storm: How the changing climate affects our vineyards
This year’s record-breaking warm, dry summer gave grape-growers and winemakers a sweet taste of what climate change has in store for Nova Scotia. That heat came just after a freeze in early June—late in the season for a frost so severe—offered another, bitter, glimpse at what climate change will look like in our vineyards. “There […]
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DRINK THIS: Avondale Sky’s Benediction
Avondale Sky Winery just released a new vintage of its Benediction, a traditional (Champagne) method sparkling wine made from Geisenheim 318—a grape hybrid bred at (and named for) the Geisenheim Research Centre, from parents Riesling and Chancellor. The grape may have originated in Germany, but the wine is all Nova Scotia. Apple cider and rising […]
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Nova Scotia Pét-Nat’s natural beauty
It sounds like the most natural thing in the world. “You’re harvesting grapes, pressing them in whole clusters, letting the juice sit, and the ferment starts,” explains Bruce Ewert. “When the sugar gets to a level that I know would produce bubbles, it’s bottled.” And that’s it? “And that’s it.” Ewert, winemaker at l’Acadie Vineyards, […]
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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 […]
Posted inFood + Drink
What’s cooler than being cool? Icewine.
In the middle of winter, it’s tempting to do everything possible to escape the cold. What would it look like, though, to embrace winter’s icy grip? To find warmth and community in the deep freeze? It might look something like the Nova Scotia Icewine Festival, an annual event in the Annapolis Valley that showcases for […]
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Nova Scotia’s grape growth mindset
Wineries all over Atlantic Canada are celebrating last season’s harvest. Grapes hung on the vine longer than usual during our warm fall, boosting sugar and mellowing acidity. With little rain, their flavours and aromas concentrated, with less spoilage from moulds and mildews. After such a season, we should expect people to be excited about growing […]
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Thinking outside the vines
T he Annapolis, Gaspereau and Avon River valleys and their concentrated cluster of wineries contribute undeniable richness to Nova Scotia’s wine landscape. But flanking this heartland, smaller sub-regions spice up the wine scene, presenting new flavours and textures for our kitchen tables. This diversity in wine is owed not only to Nova Scotia’s varied geography, […]
Posted inFood + Drink
The Wine Lover’s Guide to Atlantic Canada reads between the vines
Moira Peters knows a lot about wine. A trained sommelier, wine columnist and the owner of Unwined Tasting Parties, she doesn’t just talk about the juice—her life is all about it. Even more so now, as she adds her latest badge of vino know-how: Writing the book on local wine, literally, as co-author of The […]