Jamie Goode tastes some of the top wines from this eastern Canadian wine region.
By: Jamie Good
June 27, 2023
I’ve visited Nova Scotia three times, and each time come away impressed by both the charm of this eastern Canadian region, and the quality of the wines.
It’s quite a marginal region, with a very cool climate (average GDDs are 1000), and for this reason hybrid grape varieties have been a key feature of the viticultural landscape. The most widely planted grape is L’Acadie Blanc, a hybrid, with 32% of plantings.
The first commercial vineyard here was Domaine du Grand Pré in 1979, but things have really progressed more recently as Vitis vinifera varieties have joined the party, and received international acclaim for making some very convincing traditional method sparkling wines.
The two main regions are the Gaspereau and Annapolis Valleys, both benefiting from the Bay of Fundy, which has the world’s largest tides. There are now 19 wineries working with wine grapes, and some 485 hectares under vine (as of 2020, up by 200 hectares since I first visited in 2016).