CANADIAN GRAPE EXPECTATIONS:
NOVA SCOTIA’S WINE REVOLUTION

Andrew Church takes us to Tidal Bay, Nova Scotia, for a taste of its crisp cold-climate wines.

Scene One: Restaurant Composé in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. A waterfront table at sunset, a rich chowder with local scallops and a glass of Tidal Bay wine.

Scene Two: The Old Fish Factory on the harbour wharf in Lunenburg, NS. Accompanying hearty portions of possibly the best fish and chips ever is a glass of Tidal Bay.

Scene Three: Five Fishermen, an elegant restaurant in Halifax, the provincial capital, serving sophisticated seafood, with a bottle of Tidal Bay. Spot the common denominator? From gourmet flair to hearty down-to-earth grub, Nova Scotia’s new culinary USP is ...a wine called Tidal Bay.

Vines are nothing new in Nova Scotia. Soon after the French settled on the Bear River in the early 1600s, they planted some Bordeaux vines. But only in the 1980s did serious wine making really take off in the southwest part of this Canadian maritime province. Today, Nova Scotia has more than 20 wineries, all benefitting from the long, cool growing season. With grape harvesting often taking place late in October, intense flavours have time to develop.

As Nova Scotian wines improved in quality, artisan winemakers wanted to boost their profile. In 2011, they decided to tell the world about their unique “terroir”. Like Sancerre in France, Vinho Verde in Portugal or Rioja in Spain, they wanted an “appellation” that would apply to the whole of the province. The chosen name, Tidal Bay, celebrates Nova Scotia’s natural wonder: the Bay of Fundy, home to the world’s highest tides, which rise and fall by as much as 16 metres (53 feet), twice a day!

To bear this prestigious Tidal Bay label, winemakers must meet strict rules. Grapes must be 100% Nova Scotia-grown. Although some 20 specified varietals may be used, the majority of the blend must feature one or more of the province’s four main grape types: L’Acadie Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Vidal and Geisenheim 318. Of all the grapes, the pride and joy is L’Acadie Blanc, a hardy, widely-planted, early-ripening, white hybrid, often referred to as “Nova Scotia’s signature white wine variety”.

Devised 70 years ago to cope with the salty maritime climate with its warm summers, long mild autumns and harsh winters, the grape was named for the Acadians, the French settlers, who were expelled from the region by Britain in 1755. (Many fled to Louisiana, where they established the “Cajun” culture.)

Although each winery creates its own individual style of Tidal Bay, the appellation’s distinct characteristics must be in the bottle – and the glass: “lively fresh green fruit, dynamic acidity and characteristic minerality.” And the alcohol must not exceed 11%. To ensure standards are met, an independent blind-tasting panel assesses each vineyard’s production every year. Currently 14 vineyards qualify.

Many are near Highway 1, the old road that runs for 300km/200 miles from Halifax to Yarmouth. In the scenic Annapolis Valley alone, 11 vineyards are within a short drive – or easy cycle ride – of the buzzy university town of Wolfville. As in so many New World countries, these wineries welcome visitors with tours, tasting rooms and cafés showcasing produce from local farms. Patios look out over rows of vines, often with ocean and low rolling mountains in the distance.

And each winery tells its own story. In recent years, passionate growers have planted more familiar vines: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. And they have been stunningly successful. Stop at Luckett Vineyards for lunch and a glass of Phone Box Red, named for their own British telephone booth, a nod to the founder’s English roots. Over at Lightfoot and Wolfville Vineyards, organic and biodynamic principles rule for wines that include their highly-regarded Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir. Founded in 1994 by the Swiss Stutz family, the Domaine de Grand Pré winery is known for its fine wines, as well as Le Caveau restaurant and a comfy inn, set in a converted 200-year-old wooden house.

‘Nova Scotia has more than 20 wineries, all benefitting from the long, cool growing season. With grape harvesting often taking place late in October, intense flavours have time to develop.’

Further west, Benjamin Bridge is renowned for its award-winning sparkling wines. The 2016 Brut Nature is 100% Chardonnay, while Nova 7 is a riotous mix of L’Acadie, Vidal, Muscat, Riesling, Ortega and Geisenheim. With a touch of flowery sweetness reminiscent of peach and honeysuckle, it partners anything from sushi to blue cheese and desserts. Then, there is their ice wine, made from Vidal grapes left to freeze on the vine, before being hand-picked on finger-numbing nights in November and December. With notes of candied orange peel and dried apricots, you could describe this luscious tipple as “Christmas in a glass”.

These are all part and parcel of the Nova Scotia experience, but there is so much more. The province boasts a fascinating history: the 400 years of French heritage (Nouvelle France) was followed, after the 18th-century Highland Clearances, by Scottish culture (hence Nova Scotia). And the region is full of picture-postcard villages, fishing harbours, and unspoiled landscapes, criss-crossed with great hiking and biking trails.

Touring Nova Scotia, you can’t miss signs for the Evangeline Trail, named after the Longfellow poem Evangeline, which traces the “Great Upheaval”, the 18th-century expulsion of the French. Their story is told at the Grand-Pré National Historic Site, on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Stay in Annapolis Royal, with its turbulent history; travel back in time at Port-Royal National Historic Site.

In this reconstructed “habitation”, interpreters, dressed as French colonists, explain colonial life in the early 1600s. The Acadian heritage of those earliest Nova Scotian wine makers, is still alive and well. In Yarmouth, where the Acadian flag flies, you can hear Acadian patois and music and order typical Acadian dishes, such as rappie pie (râpure), a potato and chicken casserole.

But long before Europeans arrived, the Mi’kmaq lived here – and indigenous people still do. The Benjamin Bridge vineyards, for example, are on “unceded” Mi’kmaq territory. Back in 2017, this winery teamed up with the tiny Glooscap First Nation to found an annual Beyond Terroir event. They not only brought Mi’kmaw culture, cooking and tradition to a wider audience, they also worked together in 2021 to create a dry rosé, called Glooscap First Nation x Benjamin Bridge. Think of it as past and present combining in a bottle that everyone can enjoy now and in the future.

At the end of 2023, the Halifax International Wine Fest celebrated Nova Scotia and its place on the international wine scene. Fourteen Nova Scotian wineries took part. Many of these liquid ambassadors for the province showcased Tidal Bay, reflecting both their skill and the enthusiasm for what is often described as “Nova Scotia in a glass”.

‘Like Sancerre in France, Vinho Verde in Portugal or Rioja in Spain, they wanted an “appellation” that would apply to the whole of the province. The chosen name, Tidal Bay, celebrates Nova Scotia’s natural wonder: the Bay of Fundy, home to the world’s highest tides, which rise and fall by as much as 16 metres (53 feet), twice a day!’

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