Video: What’s New With Nova Scotia Wines?

Our guest this evening is a certified sommelier and instructor of culinary and tourism studies at the Nova Scotia Community College. She leads tastings of Nova Scotia wines for restaurant staff around the province as well as other educational seminars on behalf of “Taste of Nova Scotia” through the support of the Department of Agriculture.

And she joins me live now from her home in the Gaspereau Valley.  Welcome Amy Savoury!

Watch previous episodes of the Wednesday Wining Show (WWS)  and find out who’s coming up next.

 

Did you grow up with wine on the family table at dinner?

Can you remember your first taste of a great wine?

What was the exact moment when you realized that you wanted to be in the wine and culinary industry? Tell us exactly where you were? What triggered the thought? How did you feel? What was the next step you took to get going on the path?

What’s the biggest misconception that people have of NS wines? Let’s be more specific than they’re not of great quality or that there aren’t many wineries ;)

We know that NS has great limestone soils and a cool climate, but tell us something that we don’t know about NS when it comes to making wine?

Apart from tasting lots of different wines from NS and visiting the region, how would you suggest that our community here tonight really get to know NS?

How does the Bay of Fundy influence wine style — what’s the science? How high do the tides rise to?

Why is it that 60% of all wines made in NS are white and sparkling? Let’s dive deeper than simply cool climate — can you explain more?

Let’s chat about different types of acidity and how they differ: angular, crisp, firm, fresh, racy, lively, and youthful? Can you give us some food comparisons so that we understand the differences please?

What is the Tidal Bay appellation and how did it come to be formed?

 

You may know that NS produces wine, but did you know that over the past 13 years the number of wineries have grown by 133%? Currently, there are 22 wineries, compared to nine in 2005.

There are now 90 grape growers.

NS has the world’s only stylistic appellation, Tidal Bay.

NS is Canada’s coolest wine region.

That’s exactly what our next guest on the Sunday Sipper Club will reveal to us this evening.

And you’re here with me on the Sunday Sipper Club where we gather every week at 6 pm eastern to meet some of the most intriguing people in the wine world on Facebook Live, YouTube Live Stream and Twitter via Periscope.

Welcome everybody!

Listen to her stories and experiences as we taste wines together:

What would surprise us about Nova Scotia wines today?

How did Tidal Bay become the first stylistic wine appellation in the world?

What are the best food pairings for NS wines?

How should we plan a vacation to visit NS wineries?

Plus anything you want to ask Amy Savoury!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the past 13 years established wineries have grown by 133%. Currently there are 22 wineries, compared to nine in 2005.

According to the Economic Impact of the Wine and Grape Industry in Canada 2015 published report, Nova Scotia’s wine industry supports 934 jobs in the province, many in rural communities. Over 112,000 tourists have come to our province to enjoy our world class wines, creating $19.2 million in tourism revenues. The total economic impact of the Nova Scotia grape growing and wine industry in 2015 was $218 million. This is an increase of over $22 million since 2011. An average bottle of Nova Scotia wine generates $36.62 in economic impact, while one bottle of international wine generates $1 in economic impact to the province.

The Winery Association of Nova Scotia winesofnovascotia.ca

The Winery Association of Nova Scotia (WANS) was formed in 2002 to represent the interests of wine producers, to serve as a voice for local industry and to promote the growth and development of Nova Scotia wines. The Wines of Nova Scotia logo can be found on bottles of Nova Scotia wines made from 100% Nova Scotia grown grapes and fruit, and that meet the Nova Scotia Wine Standards.

Taste of Nova Scotia

Taste of Nova Scotia is a unique, province-wide, marketing program, with over 200 restaurant, producer/processor and industry members who are committed to offering the most exceptional local culinary products and experiences the province has to offer.

 

 

 

Nova Scotia: Good Cheer Trail, Lobster Trail and Chowder Trail

Nova Scotia, Canada – Crafted by family traditions, compelling history and exciting innovation, the Nova Scotia Good Cheer, Lobster and Chowder trails help showcase the best of Nova Scotia to locals and visitors. The three distinct trails are part of tourism programming designed to encourage consumers to travel the province year-round and to inspire and guide their local culinary journey.

“Lobster, chowder and good cheer – it doesn’t get much more Nova Scotian than that,” says Emily Haynes, executive director of Taste of Nova Scotia. “These trails are truly unique to Nova Scotia and the passports are a fun tool for exploring our province…from downtown Halifax to the Bay of Fundy to the Bras d’Or Lakes, the trails take you on a culinary journey to every corner and cove of Nova Scotia.”

The Nova Scotia Lobster Trail is the newest culinary trail with 49 trail stops featuring Nova Scotia traditional lobster dinners, lobster rolls, lobster experiences and even lobster poutine.

First launched in 2011, the Chowder Trail is back, with 59 trail stops featuring from scratch Nova Scotia seafood chowders.

The Good Cheer Trail, with 72 trail stops, is Canada’s first and only winery, craft brewery, distillery and cidery trail. Currently in its fourth year, the Good Cheer Trail celebrates Nova Scotia’s rich culinary history dating back to 1606, when Samuel de Champlain established the Order of Good Cheer in Port-Royal, Nova Scotia.

“Visitors are looking for authentic, local culinary experiences that can only be found in Nova Scotia,” says Michele Saran, CEO, Tourism Nova Scotia. “These trails showcase some of the best seafood, beer, cider, spirits and wine our province has to offer, elevating Nova Scotia’s reputation as a culinary tourism destination.”

The trails help visitors and locals plan their Nova Scotia culinary adventures. All three culinary tourism trails are developed in a joint partnership between Tourism Nova Scotia and Taste of Nova Scotia.

“The Good Cheer Trail has been valuable in making us a destination for people interested in craft beer, both from Nova Scotia and visitors to the province,” says Emily Tipton, founding partner of Boxing Rock Brewery. “We like being able to offer tourists the passport as a way to see more of our industry.”

Consumers use their virtual or paper passports to check-in to trail stop locations on each trail. Collecting stamps and submitting passports online qualifies them for some great local prizes. For more information on the Good Cheer Trail, Lobster Trail and Chowder Trail, pick up a passport at trail stop locations or visit www.tasteofnovascotia.com.

 

Nova Scotia: CANADA’S COOLEST WINE REGION
a snap shot of Nova Scotia Wine Essentials

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full Transcript:

Natalie:

So you probably know that Nova Scotia produces wine, but did you know that the growth in the number of wineries has been 133% since 2005 alone. There are now 22 wineries and Nova Scotia has the world’s only stylistic Appalachian, which we’re going to talk more about called tidal Bay. It’s beautiful, beautiful wine. Did you know there are 90 growers and that Nova Scotia is Canada’s coolest wine region, not just cool as in yes, you want to be there, but also ideal for growing crisp, fresh, refreshing wines? That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about with our guests tonight on the Sunday sipper club show. I’m Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest wine review site @nataliemaclean.com and we gather here every Sunday at 6:00 PM Eastern. That’s Toronto New York time to talk to the most interesting people in the world of wine. Now, before I introduce my guest fully, I would love to know where you’re logging in from tonight.

Natalie:

I’ll bet you there are a lot of people on mobile from cottages and, decks around such a beautiful weekend. Where are you logging in from? Tell me in the comments and what’s the weather like? It’s beautiful here in Ottawa. Sunny, gorgeous. Hello, Anne and Halifax. And, Beverly is here from, so Cal, that’s Southern California. All right, so guys keep, keep commenting, and logging in and I am going to also share with you a few things before we get going. So I wanted to let you know that if you would love to learn more about wine, you can register for a free online video wine class where I teach you how to taste wine like a pro. So it’s just Natalie MacLean/pro and you can select your class time and save your seat right now. Also, I know you’re going to enjoy this conversation, but as you know, for those who take a, three seconds to share the video, so hit the share button and make a comment as to why you’re sharing it with your fans, your friends, your family.

Natalie:

, you could win a gift basket from the taste, no taste of Nova Scotia. So goodies from Nova Scotia. That’s the prize that we will be drawing for next week based on everybody who has shared, those of you who are alive here tonight. And those of you who are watching the replay at the end of tonight, I’m going to announce the winner of last week. Well it’s been two weeks cause we took a break for July 1st, but I’m going to announce the winner of the competition from two weeks ago, which is a couple of bottles of rife wineries, wines from Ontario, but right now, hello Louise Boudreau. She’s on the course and kept Phil. Thanks for joining us. Louise. Rochelle is here in Ottawa. Hello calling, Kilty, you’re logging in from Canada. Ottawa Jemelle is in Toronto. , and I know Ellen McDonald has joined us from Amherst, Nova Scotia and some people’s comments have already flipped off the screen.

Natalie:

So keep, keep logging in and telling me where are you logging in from tonight, and what’s the weather like there? I love to know. All right folks. So tonight we are talking about Nova Scotia wines and our guest, is a certified several yea and instructor of culinary and tourism studies at the Nova Scotia community college and she leads and has led tastings of hundreds of tastings of Nova Scotia wines for restaurant staff and, around the province as well as other educational seminars on behalf of tastes Nova Scotia through the support of the department of agriculture. And she joins me now live from her home in the Gaspreau Valley of Nova Scotia. Welcome to the Sunday sipper club. Amy Savoury. Hello Amy.

Amy:

Hello Natalie.

Natalie:

Oh, so glad you could join us. So excited. And as a Nova Scotia gal, myself, my mom and dad are from Cape Breton Modac Mabu I am so excited to talk about our topic tonight and I know you are a huge advocate and proponent for Nova Scotia wines. So. All right. So before we dive into that, Amy, maybe you can tell me, was one part of your family dinners growing up or was it on the table or what, what was, how did you get introduced to wine?

Amy:

, no, why was actually never on our table gathering. It was the jug of milk. Right. , special occasions we may have had the bottle of PA PF door come out. , but definitely, the wine was never part of my, part of my life growing up. And it was really, at university that I discovered it. I went to Acadia and then the grand Prairie Wiener is just being renovated in the late nineties. And, anyway, left it. But I didn’t know why.

Natalie:

Okay. All right. It sounds similar to my history as well. And it was more beer and whiskey. , although I wasn’t partaking of that when I was younger. But can you remember the first wine you tasted like the first one that turns you on to wine? , even if it wasn’t Nova Scotia wine, but that first memory of a great wine that really got you intrigued with wine?

Amy:

Absolutely did. And it surprisingly, it was Nova Scotia. , and so I, I had just started working at a domain of gram prey. , this would’ve been back in 2000. So they were just doing their training. And you’re the winemaker brought us down to the cellar, any Portis a glass of Muscat. , and I remember just the flora, Hilti, and all of the aromatics. I was absolutely blown away by it. And, I asked a very naive question, how do you get all that fruit in there? It’s like fermenting it with the pineapples and the leeches. , and then, you’re the winemaker. Very, very humble. He told me that, no, that’s just part of the grape. And it was at that point that I realized that there was so much to know and so much that I needed to, needed to learn and needed to taste to understand. I was absolutely blown away by that wine.

Natalie:

That’s a great story. Absolutely. And you know, Amy, there’s a learning point in there as well. We get all of these aromas that smell and taste like other fruit other than just the basic grape from which wine is made. But that’s because, you know, the molecular structure of, of, of grape and wine, can mimic those aromas. And we get that complexity. It’s, it’s why we have people like you leading tastings. And people like me reviewing wines and not an orange juice as I have said in the past though. That’s fascinating. So what did you do then? You got intrigued by this wine and what was your next step?

Amy:

Well, my, so I worked at crown pray for, for a few weeks when they first opened, but I had dreams of being a marketer and so I had taken business at university and I left for, , I was at the cramp. I, and after about five weeks I got a job in marketing and I took it and I was miserable. Oh, I, yeah, I did not like it. And, there was a pivotal point in my life where I realized that it’s too short to be unhappy and I felt that the wine was calling me back and I called Hunt’s Peter, the owner of Graham prey. And I said, I’m not happy. I would love to come back. , but the only position that they had open with a dishwasher. So I said, great, sign me up. I’m coming back to be an additional usher and a trooper. And you know, that’s when I fell in, I fell in love with the industry. I realized the back of the house and, and how it operates. And that’s really kind of where I fell in love with wine or surrounded by people that were passionate and, we’re, we’re making a go of it here in Nova Scotia and believed in it. And that’s really where I fell in love with them. No social wine and wine in general.

Natalie:

That’s inspiring. You do anything to get into the industry, including being a dishwasher. That’s fantastic. So Paul and Patty, , have joined us from Virginia. They are regulars. Welcome folks. Steven Andrews is here and Peter France, Francis is here. , and Andrea Shapiro is here. All right. So Amy, , maybe, , tell us a little bit about how important wine is to the Nova Scotia economy. Some surprising stats, especially when it comes to, how much a bottle of Nova Scotia wine contributes to the economy versus a bottle that is foreign, like an imported wine. Maybe give us some comparisons and surprising numbers.

Amy:

Yeah, absolutely. Really surprisingly, and I think, something that I feel really proud about every time I pop the cork of a bottle of Nova Scotia line, that overall to our economy of a bottle and other social wine on average contributes about $36 and 62 cents compared to, a bottle of international wine, contributes about $1 to our overall economy. And so I always say that I’m an investor in this province. Every time I open a box, I’m doing it for the province to, to allow it to grow. , we, there’s a big important part about agriculture has always been the kind of, important to Nova Scotia and with wine. Now it’s a type of agriculture that’s just adding an extra value our land, which is really, really exciting to see rural Nova Scotia, prosper, through the wine industry.

Natalie:

That’s fantastic. , and I just want to take a moment. We certainly have a lot of fans of Nova Scotia wine joining us here tonight and the folks are coming in thick and fast. So, I want to welcome, let me just go through them here. , scrolling down, Laurie sweet is here from Kingston, Ontario. And, let’s see. Heather McLean. Hello from Halifax. , Carl joy jolly is here from Prince Edward County and he was at the lavender festival, which I assume is in Nova Scotia. , Francis is here from Ottawa and another Francis Brown is from stag Island and it’s sunny and 28 there. All right. , let’s see. Steven Andrews says the only one from Nova Scotia besides Benjamin bridge that I know of is Yoast. , I think it’s from Nova Scotia. You are right. Steven, we’re going to talk about other wines tonight so that you, we’re going to get you right up to speed on 22 one.

Natalie:

What? We’re not going to go through all 22 wineries, but there are a lot of wines these days. All right, folks. , so maybe, that, that’s an amazing number in stats in terms of how it contributes. And it’s that way, Amy, across the board for all Canadian wines and I’m sure any local region, the contribution to the local economies is very important. I mean, as I’ve said before like wine is the most value-added agricultural product we produce. It’s the only one we put on the dinner table in its original packaging. We don’t tag the beef, we don’t put a little sticker on those strawberries, but we, we, we have wine on the dinner table. And the spinoff from tourism to restaurants to the whole supply chain is pretty profound. , all right. So Amy, tell us a little bit about the laxity blog. It’s a kind of special grape for Nova Scotia. And for you personally, what, what is it about Lakhani belonged? It’s a bit of a signature for Nova Scotia.

Amy:

, yes, I have a huge place in my heart for likely blah. , and so it was actually an orphan from Ontario from buying land that came here, in the late seventies, early eighties. , and the original, digital pioneer I say of Nova Scotia wine industry, Roger dial with then operating the grand prey winery and get his hands on it and realize its potential of surviving our winters and producing an amazing diversity of wine. , and it’s him that we, Oh, the name black blah, paying homage to the Acadian culture that, was deported right from below the vineyards of grand prey. And so there are not many places in the world that can say that they have a great, that’s completely kind of a signature of themselves. , and it’s true for Lakhani Tiguan, what it does here, Nova Scotia, and I often call it the workhorse of our grades where it’s used to make a single Bria tall white.

Amy:

It’s used to make an unbelievable sparkling traditional method. It takes Oak aging really, really lovely. , and then we can often make it into a, into other styles, other styles of wines. It really is, a primary blender of the tidal Bay, and it really is a grape that we can truly say if Nova Scotian. And I think that when you travel anywhere in the world, do you want to connect with that kind of, those grapes that are unique to that region? And I’m really proud to say that here in Nova Scotia we have that. Great. Yeah, absolutely. I haven’t heard it being grown anywhere else and yet I’ve tasted it in Nova Scotia and here at home in Ottawa. And it’s, it’s, it is unlike anything else. It’s beautiful. It’s fresh, it’s crisp, it’s not Riesling, it’s not a diverse demeanor. It’s, it’s, it’s its own creature and you really have to try it to really know what it is.

Amy:

Absolutely. So, so good segue there, Amy, because Francis is asking, can you elaborate on the title Bay appellation? So, we’ve got a lot of different wineries in Nova Scotia labeling, producing a title Bay. Here’s Graham fray. That was Lightfoot that I just had up there. And I’ve got planter’s Ridge here. I’ve got a number of them here, but maybe you could tell us about tidal Bay and what that’s all about. Absolutely. It, what a truly remarkable success it’s been for Nova Scotia in terms of, a being a wine that truly captures our climate, in terms of bright and lively and those lovely aromatics that are cool evenings give us, but then that actually fits within, the food that we’re already known for. It’s a perfect partner to go with. And, I love the new branding of the winery fish station.

Amy:

They just ran a tidal Bay as one story, many authors. And so there is very strict kind of standards and regulations that I love that as a writer, I love that one story. Many authors that’s poetic. I love that. Yeah, it really is. And so it gives you that sense that the winemaker has the really stringent standards of which they have to make the wine and what grapes they can use to make the wine, but it never inhibits their creative through creative spirit so they can interpret that story and develop the character of the wine as they see fit. And so this year’s benches, 2017, we have 11 different title bays from 11 different producers. And wineries. And although they all fit in terms of that spectrum of light and bright and crisp and slightly aromatic, they all have their own unique personality, which is a, I think really special about the program. It’s so stylistically it fits, but there’s an expression of it, each individual winery and their little place in Nova Scotia that they can, they can express through the wine.

Natalie:

Absolutely. I want to welcome Randy. I’m sorry, Randy, if I, don’t get your last name right here, who Zenga I believe has joined us and, Nicole Tracy Lewis has joined us to learn more about Nova Scotia wine. She’s excited. , and folks, I just want to take a moment cause I forget to do this. As our conversation goes on the please take a moment to share. I’m sure you know, friends and family who would love to learn more about Nova Scotia wines, whether they can join us right now or they can catch the replay and comment as to why they might enjoy it. And, we will be drawing for a gift basket of Nova Scotia goodies, food gifts, for those who do. Take a moment to share and comment. And one more note that if you do want to take an online video class, how to taste wine like a pro, go to Natalie MacLean/pro and it’s free. All right. So, now with Tidal Bay, Amy is, are there set number or specific grapes that can be blended? Is it a choice? How, how does it work?

Amy:

So if it’s a three-tier system, and so, there are the four primary grades that, that kind of make up the majority of the blends. So 51% of the wine needs to be made from either Lakhani, blah, say blah, blah, [inaudible], or Geisenheim three 18.

Natalie:

They’re all very aromatic white grapes.

Amy:

Yes, absolutely. And, and then have, have a structure of their, of their own. And then, so 51% of the Glenn needs to make from those four grades. And then there’s a second tier where the majority of the grapes are. So you’ll see [inaudible], you’ll see vinifera in there, anything from Chardonnay and Reese lane. , you’ll see other French-American hybrids in that secondary, and no more than 49% of the blank can be made from that position, of the center of varieties. And then the tertiary varieties are those really aromatic rates. So we’re talking like Muscat oxen out or New York mascot curl the sattva. And so those, that was great, can’t be made up of any more than 15% of the blend to ensure that it’s not overly aromatic, that it still expresses itself of the place. , and so the wine maker really has this really creative freedom to kind of play with those grape varieties. Now some wine makers will choose too, use the same grapes every year, so they have your signature kind of blends and they use those grapes every year where other wine makers will kind of play depending on what the, what the vintage kind of fade. , and then we’ll stylistic the wine, depending, depending on that. So it’s really neat to kind of look through the, the blends of the different wineries to see how varied they are, but how they still nail that stylistic component of light, bright, crisp and aromatic.

Natalie:

That signature, that one story. Many authors. Exactly. Yeah. It reminds me a little bit of Schaden of Depop where you can have up to 13 grapes in the blend, of course, completely different that’s over in the Rhone Valley, France. But that, that idea that you can have this whole pallet of many grapes to create that consistent sort of signature that you want for tidal Bay. Absolutely. Yeah. And is there a limit of alcohol level that, can be in these wines?

Amy:

Yes. So, , they, they do all the standards limit, the maximum, the maximum alcohol level. So we want to keep it light. And so, a title that you can’t have any more than, 11% alcohol to ensure that they stay light and light and vibrant. And then there are also parameters around the, the minimum amount of total acidity that the wine needs to have as well as the maximum amount of residual sugar. So they’re ensuring that balance of brightness, in, in the wine.

Natalie:

Hm. That’s fantastic. Wow, that’s interesting. And it was Peter Gamble who, who created this Peter Gamble, just for a bit of background. If anybody’s not in the wine industry, which I’m sure the majority of are not, but he’s married to Anne Sperling, famous wine maker, here in Ontario, but she has her own vineyards as well in, BC Sperling vineyards, South Brooklyn, Ontario. I know she’s consulted to, and she and her husband Peter Gamble to Benjamin bridge and I think blama den and they have an, Argentina vineyard. So anyway, Peter Gamble, was he the, he was the Ark or the one who came up with the idea?

Amy:

He kind of, he, so, back in the red in 2009, Benjamin Bridgeway is creating a white blend called Pharaoh. , and Ben, Peter was, consulting for Benjamin Frisch at the time, and he said, this is the thing, align your region needs to concentrate on. It was a, you know, just everything that tidal Bay West and he kind of brought the idea and pitched it to, the winery association, which we’re, we, we benefit here in Nova Scotia that was small and fairly collaborative. So, being small, we’re a little bit more nimble, but the winery association, absolutely grabbed ahold of the idea and said, we can totally work with us. We can build standards, we can make something that’s truly Nova Scotia in a glass.

Natalie:

Hmm. Oh, that’s fantastic. I love that. Nova Scotia glass. , and I wanna welcome Linda Watson’s joined us and Roger, cough, don’t cough. L he says, we were wonderfully surprised by Yoast when we visited last summer. That’s awesome. , Luis Woodrow is now, so we’ll, we’ll return to tidal Bay when we taste some wines here, folks. But Louis Boudreau has an interesting question. Are there any organic wines in Nova Scotia? Amy?

Amy:

Absolutely. , so laxity vineyards, with our first certified, organic winery in Nova Scotia. , an exceptional little place who really specializes, in traditional methods, sparkling wines. , and, he produced the first traditional methods, sparkling wine for Nova Scotia in the 2006 vintage of the lack of the brute. , just an exceptional spot who, really connected with his land and his soil. And I think the wisest words he ever said to me when, I asked him, well, why did you work? He said, well, I’m raising my children on this farm. I want to make sure that, yeah. And it really kind of connects you back to back to the land. So we, we also have like put in Wolfeboro who is yet organic, with some of their wines and also, practicing biodynamic farming practices.

Natalie:

Oh, I know. And you know, some of their labels, I’m going to just turn around and get one of these bottles here. They’re beautiful, but they’re, they symbolize the biodynamic. There are elements of the biodynamic, farming and viticulture in the label. I believe you probably, you would know more about this than I do, but gorgeous. Yeah,

Amy:

absolutely. So every, every symbol in there signifies something about their particular vineyard and that particular variety. , absolutely stunning.

Natalie:

Yeah, absolutely. And you know, I think many of us would find it hard to believe that you can do organic and biodynamic in Nova Scotia where the conditions are more challenging. It is Canada’s coolest region by a degree or something like that versus Ontario and BC. So how are these folks doing this?

Amy:

It’s, you know what, I think that’s what, what I love about our industry, of course, I often say we’re small, right? At 22 wineries, we’re really small where we’re very small on a Canadian scale, but, , it’s, it’s the, it’s the risk taking and it’s the excitement and the passion and the innovation for connecting with a place to produce really wines that are distinctive of who we are. And I often find that that’s, what really makes us unique that being young, we really don’t have a lot of rules and a lot of boundaries. And so, folks are just kind of playing with it and seeing how it, seeing how it works out. And so far I would say it’s been out pretty great. Yeah,

Natalie:

it’s going well so far. So far, so good. , and walk, asks, where in Toronto can we find Nova Scotia wines

Amy:

and being small, we don’t ask for a lot right now. Should I know that at the LCPO you can certainly find some of the Benjamin bridge product? So yeah.

Natalie:

Seven. There we go. I know that just came out in a, in vintages LCPO yeah. And that’s got national distribution, I believe one of the wines that do have national distribution. So that’s there. Yeah. And yeah, go ahead.

Amy:

Yeah. So you can find a, you can find a few of those, few of those products. Of course. I think that we would love to bring more to the three more than the market, for sure.

Natalie:

Absolutely. And that goes into an, the whole free my grapes movement that the Canadian Vitner’s ally, association CVA is promoting right now. So we are, they’ve reached out to writers like me to help promote this. And I am such an advocate because I would love to order more Nova Scotia wines from my, where I grew up to, to my doorstep here in Ontario. But of course, we can’t. We can, the federal government has legalized it, not the provincial governments. So if you go to free my grapes.ca to add your voice, it’s, it’s a quick little thing that will go off to your local, elected representative to tell him or her that it’s important. And I think especially to small wineries like those in Nova Scotia, but there are all kinds across the country in Ontario, everywhere that can’t, they don’t have the volume to get into the big liquor stores. And so this direct to consumer, the channel is really vital for their growth and their sustainability. So anyway, and another little soapbox moment, but I think it’s really important. , so what, let me just look at these. These are coming in quickly. , which is great. , Carl Jo jolly, Julie asks Amy, where are the 90 growers located in Nova Scotia? So we have 22 wineries, 90 growers, grape growers providing grapes to those wineries. Are they dispersed or are they mainly concentrated in the, say the Annapolis Valley area?

Amy:

,, they’re actually dispersed, throughout rural Nova Scotia. And so we, we have about, set like seven identifiable, great growing regions and Nova Scotia, of course, the concentration are certainly healthier in the Annapolis Valley, kind of being the heart, the heart of the industry. , but we have about right now, it’s not going to seem a lot to Ontario DC standards, but we have about a thousand acres of land under bond. , so still fairly small and a lot of those, crepe rivers are located. Yes. Here in the Annapolis Valley, the Annapolis Valley can be quite large by parameters from like Windsor down to Digby. There’s a great concentration. , and then we have an, great growers in Annapolis, and [inaudible] County, and great growers, in the [inaudible] peninsula. So the are, they are quick to a guy are quite scattered. And I think it’s, the department of agriculture recently, published a stat that said for every acre of grapes that we can get planted in a Scotia, it creates the equivalent of one full-time job. Wow. Yeah. And for me, being a rural Nova Scotian girl, that makes me really proud because I know that those are, I’m close to a thousand jobs that 20 years ago didn’t exist. And most of those are in rural places throughout the province

Natalie:

where it’s tougher to find jobs as opposed to having to move to the city where the cost of living is higher. So that’s really important. Yeah, it’s really great. Yeah, absolutely. Now I heard somewhere recently, and you don’t have to confirm this Amy, but I was listening to a podcast or reading something and the person was saying that there is more potential land that can be planted for vine grapes or wine grapes in Nova Scotia than any other province in Canada. So there’s, the potential for this province is, is huge in terms of untapped plantings that could still be done in the province. So that’s pretty exciting in terms of just the trajectory that Nova Scotia wines her on and where it’s all going.

Amy:

It’s true. We had, last year, 2017 was our largest planting yet, through the department of agriculture. They put a vineyard expansion program in place and we saw 260 acres he planted just last year alone. 2017. Wow.

Natalie:

That is fantastic. Absolutely. All right, so, and let me just scroll down here as the comments are still coming on. , okay. Yes, Carl was asking about Anne’s comment. , can we order online? , so, so, so let me just say, as someone who doesn’t own a winery, and whatever, I know people do order and order directly from wineries. It’s just not legal at a provincial level and which is just silly. So contact the wineries and make an arrangement to ship those glass fragile boxes. That’s all I can say. Okay. Take a hint. But still, people do do that. They, they regularly do that. And many wineries make a point of making it public too. So, I, I totally support that. So pugs moments as Roger? Yes. I’ll try to stay off at Roger. David has joined us from Ontario. Ana Pakula. Where are you logging in from?

Natalie:

Anna? And if you’re just joining us, suppose please post. Where are you logging in? I love to know where you’re coming from and where. What’s the weather like? Tonight’s beautiful here in Ottawa. , all right, let me just go up here and Brad McCloud. Brad, where are you from? Is asking about the reds. So talk to us about red wines in now I should say, one of the stats you sent me, Amy, is that 60% of wines produced in Nova Scotia are white or sparkling, presumably because of the cool climate, but how does Nova Scotia handle reds and which reds?

Amy:

Absolutely. So yeah, we, we can’t forget what the majority of the wine that reproduces white and sparkling, that we’ve, we still make exceptional, exceptional red. So, the, right now the, peanut alarms that are being released, are really beautiful. We only have a handful of the producers producing peanuts. , but they’re, they’re gorgeous and a red table style. The, like Vinomofo Sen as an example is pretty stellar. , but I think where we really shine is certainly with our blended, our blended reds, and the wine makers once again are coming in and playing a really important role in terms of really create a wine making aisle. So a lot is playing with, the Paso style reds, so drying the grades to concentrate those sugars to them a little bit more body. , we even have one producer left at vineyards here in the Valley that is actually, burying the blended red in the ground in Oak in barrels eight feet under to get this exceptional kind of complexity. , that kind of, really is, is, is wonderful. And so,

Natalie:

why did they, sorry, are they just burying it in the ground or is a seller a down that low and they’re actually bearing the barrel in the ground? Really?

Amy:

Yup. And, putting the wine, putting the wine in the barrel and it stays about 24 months underground and then they siphon it off and, it’s exceptional. They do, buried white. , that is 100% laxity that it’s unbelievable how it changes. I could eat

Natalie:

is it earthy? Okay. Okay. Just curious. You don’t look, it is a great winery to visit. All of them are, but look it at, of course, that’s pizza for teak in Halifax. There are teas, no grocery store, but if you go in the middle of their vineyards, they’ve got this British phone box and I think you still can make a phone call anywhere in the world at no charge. But it’s this red British in a phone box in the middle of vineyards. It’s so iconic. It’s Instagram worthy for sure. Yeah, definitely. If that, if it’s, I mean with the most stunning view of the Anthony de [inaudible]. And it’s funny when you go there and they can’t grow grass in front of the phone. Booth has so many people stopped together. Pictures. It’s great. It is so much fun. So, they bury their wines. Okay. , yeah. And so they make a lot of robust reds. What other kinds of reds are being made? You mentioned Pinot noir, which is on the lighter style, but, what other reds are, are popular being planted right now, Nova Scotia.

Amy:

So, so we’re really seeing, so we see a lot of that kind of, North American hybrids taking the front road here. So, we only low and Marshall foes. Buffalo Nawara is a beautiful red producer for us. , and we even had, some with that fingered expansion. , some of the wineries are now as we’re putting Kanban, which I’m super excited about,

Natalie:

how many Frank as well. So we’re kind of pushing boundaries and pushing the limits, which I think you need to do. , as a, as a wine region. All great wines come from the edge of possibility and we’re really trying to learn that here as we new it. New reg Bay Friday. Absolutely. And there was a lot of smiley faces for that [inaudible] reaction. , Brad Macleod says, I’d ask about reds, but I just opened a Benjamin bridge, tidal Bay, Brad, and Rhonda, they’re in Halifax. , so yeah, there’s an amazing amount. And of course, you said hybrids and for people who aren’t familiar with what that means, it’s a cross between two grapes, often that produces a more winter Hardy cool climate vine that can survive the temperature dips that happen in regions like Nova Scotia, but across Canada as well. Bucko Newmar is also very popular in Ontario. It’s a beautiful full bodied red wine. All right, so let me get back to, I’ve gotten totally off track, which is great. , on the the questions here, maybe talk to us a little bit, Amy, about maybe the biggest misconception that people have about Nova Scotia wines. I know you’ve addressed some of this through our chat so far, but is there something you’d like to address now that is often a mistake when it comes to Nova Scotia wines?

Amy:

Sure. I think, you know, it’s a great question that I think leads right into my comments just previously about, about the grape varieties and that, you know, we know that 80% of the world’s wines are made from about 20 different grape varieties. And those are really great so we can get comfortable with and we can really understand and we can really get to know. , but I would say that, we, we need to also understand other great variaties like Lackey blob or Leon lo. , or she wrote eBay, right? Like,

Natalie:

yes, there are only great Fridays, to try. And I think that, although we’re now growing Chardonnay and Riesling and piano wire, we’ve got so many wonderful varieties. It’s like, it’s beautiful. Thai, you go from Cape Breton. Oh yes. Caton that’s awesome. Yeah. You get is the grape, right?

Amy:

Yeah, it’s the group. Yeah. And, I think it’s to be comfortable trying a grape that you don’t know cause you never know what kind of new flavors and what new experiences they bring. And so, I think that here in Nova Scotia we have about 70 different grade Fridays planted and we still kind of understand who we are, that there are so many wonderful new, great Fridays to understand and get connected with. ,

Natalie:

wow. That is amazing. Lots of experimentation, I’ll bet going on.

Amy:

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

Natalie:

, so let me just come back here cause we had some good questions here that are flying off the screen. , Dave had said he’s tastes tasted any bear river made by the new owners bear river. That must be a winery, Amy, is that right?

Amy:

Yes, yes. It’s a, yeah, it’s a winery. So I’m tucked in just kind of inland from, from Digby and they just, they just went through new owner shop now. , I haven’t tried any of the new wines under the new producers, , but it’s quite a, it’s a beautiful area in the bear river. It’s very, , very undulating Hills. And I, have once heard it referred to as little Switzerland, like, ah, lots of really little neat little, , kind of bowls of, of floats. , and so there’s quite a, quite a few grape growers down there as well. And bear river. , it’s the exciting little region to keep our eyes on for sure.

Natalie:

Okay, great. Awesome. And Louise Boudreau has just taken action. She said she sent a letter through free my grapes dot. CA easy way to communicate the message in Ontario that sends it to our local elected representatives that says, get with the post-prohibition times folks.

Amy:

, yeah.

Natalie:

So if you miss that and you’re just tuning in right now, you can go to free my grapes.ca and it is so simple. They’ve drafted the letter and you just sign it and just say, Hey, I’d love to be able to order wine from anywhere in the country. Let’s get with it. , Brad McCloud says, what should we expect this year? , this vintage regarding the heavy frost damage? I read about that. My heart just broke. , tell us about what happened in the spring. , there was an early frost or it was recent, more recent than even spring, right?

Amy:

Well, it was that, so I guess uncharted territory for us being new as well. And so, beginning of June we came off of a weekend of beautiful hot, humid weather. And so the great stuff just bedded out and I pushed quite strong. , and then Sunday evening into Monday morning, it went down to minus four. , yeah. And, just heartbreaking. , and so the positive thing is right now we just had that heatwave. The secondary butts have flourished and it’s been, yeah, the vineyards look great ever after. Yeah. Yeah. And so, of course, we’re going to be, we’re going to expect lower, , lower crops this year for sure. But if there’s anything about Nova Scotians we’re resilient because of weather. , yeah. And we’ll, and we’ll fight through it. And, I think if there’s one positive that came out of it, Natalie, is that I think it connected people back that wine is agriculture and wine is just purely farmed, like every, every other crop that we put on the table. , and so it kind of, it makes you kind of take a moment and step back and reflect on that, that although it may be in a beautiful fancy bottle on the table that it was just farmed on our land, like every other agricultural product. And so, , everybody’s remaining positive here. , and I think that we’re going to see a little, certainly a little different production. So we’ll get through it. We’ll learn from it for sure.

Natalie:

That’s great. Well, you know, there are some parallels there with the California wildfires. They found that they came together as an industry supporting each other, you know, suffering for vines, suffering for people. Sometimes it makes us better. Not that we want to invite that anytime soon, but, yeah, no, it’s a, it’s something and I’m so glad to hear that the bud break, the secondary bud break is going well because you know, sometimes those tough years can really prove the metal of, of the winemakers and the lead, the yields are low. So sometimes it actually produces some of the most spectacular wines. Then, the volume may be low, lower than usual, but the wines become benchmark wines. So there is a silver lining, I’m sure. Absolutely. Okay. And, Francis has just signed up for free my grapes. We’re starting a movement here. Yeah, it’s great.

Natalie:

Francis, and folks, just take a moment to share this video, comment on why you’re enjoying it. And we will be drawing for a gift basket of Nova Scotia artisanal foods, next week. So you can do that tonight or if you’re watching the replay. All right. So, now let me not run out of time here. It’s already almost a quarter to the hour. I can’t believe how fast this is gone, but Amy, you and I have the same wines in front of us, so let’s taste before they run out of time. , I’ve got the, I’m trying to figure out the order here, but I’ve got the Lightfoot H and M Chardonnay with the wild ferment and I think you do too. I do. Beautiful. Sharday I was there a couple of weeks ago at this winery. I had a great tasting with Emily in the tasting room. Oh, lovely. Yeah. She’s a star and a, so let’s give this a taste because the wines at Lightfoot and Wolfville blew me away. I mean it’s, the winery is only nine months old, but, I know they have to be using grapes that are more mature. Like vines are more mature right out of the gate. They want a lot of the awards at the Atlantic Canada wine awards. , and they are, as you said earlier, the first biodynamic winery in the province. Amazing wines. So let us tell us about this Chardonnay, like what are your impressions and anything you know about it?

Amy:

, beautiful there. Yeah. Simply studying, simply studying wine. , and so just that beautiful kind of kiss of Oak, that’s beautifully integrated with that cool-climate Chardonnay expression. , has lots of, it certainly has lots of complexity and layers and elegance with that. Yeah, that’s brilliant. Nova Scotian

Natalie:

acidity just sizzles. Yeah, absolutely. It’s beautiful. And it has, so it’s buttery and rich, but not heavy. I can imagine. I just, my mind keeps going to lobster, steam, lobster melting butter. Yeah. Beach. We’re done.

Amy:

Yeah, right there.

Natalie:

Absolutely. It’s such a gorgeous way. I mean, I could go on and on, but I just a, it’s a beautiful wine

Amy:

and I think that has potential, to, I’ve got, a number of bottles down on my seller. Really excited.

Natalie:

Did you see how it kind of progressive in ages? Absolutely. Absolutely. And, I don’t have this one chilled down so I’m not going to open it cause that would be explosive. But I also loved their bubbly, I was tasting them the tasting room too. It’s just, it’s the traditional method that they use in champagne and it is so gorgeous.

Amy:

So beautiful. And that, that particular wine just when a wine of the year at those Atlantic.

Natalie:

Oh wow. Yeah. Put that in the fridge tonight then. Yay. That’s great. Okay, so let’s make sure we cover some of these others that we have here. , how about the recycling from grand Paris they’d just come out with a new label here. Nice. And clean and crisp like the wine.

Amy:

Exactly. No, I hope the older vintage with me. , but I, recently, it’s fairly new for us here in Nova Scotia. , and your steps, the winemaker at ground pray, I like to call him the King of Kings

Natalie:

plane here in the Valley. Excellent. He, yeah, he has a precision with this grain at the Y always deliver as in intensity and that the racy kind of note is so good.

Amy:

Yeah. Less fruit and like session, exceptional, versatile wine. This

Natalie:

is one that kind of, I think is a GoTo on any table. It would, it would, it would stand up so many dishes and different taste preferences and profile from, excuse me, seafood to the meal to poultry to just about everything. And we were, I met my aunt Halina for lunch at Domaine de grand prey there. Look, Evo restaurant, which is outstanding. The chef, they’re amazing. And all the other, like I asked a few wineries even, where should it go for dinner, lunch? And they recommend this very collegial and the restaurant is lovely.

Amy:

Yeah. And a beautiful setting on the pergola on a summer’s day. Yeah. One thing that’s special, I think about our Nova Scotia wineries is the visitor experience. No matter which one you are, you go to, you’re going to be welcomed with that Chu genuine Nova Scotia hospitality. Absolutely thrilled to have you there to share it with. Yeah. Yeah.

Natalie:

A beautiful region like with the restaurants, everything like the gorgeous landscapes, the Bay of Fundy, which is the highest tides in the world. , pretty neat. , Louise Boudreau is saying, , Amy is an amazing presenter. Thank you. And cheers. Sorry, you’re getting your own fan club going here. , and, what was I going to Oh, and she’s also asking if there’s any ice wine in Nova Scotia.

Amy:

Oh, absolutely. Okay, good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. , so a number of producers produce beautiful ice wines that traditionally the middle grape kind of shines in that category for us as it doesn’t, Ontario as well. But really there’s, it’s seen Icelands made from, the Ortega grade, as well as the New York Muscat grain, makes intriguing nice wines here. I went pad, probably the most brilliant words of advice ever from a gentleman when I was working at look Kevo, the restaurant grand prey. , I offered him dessert and he said to me, my dear, if God intended us to eat dessert, he wouldn’t have invented fermentation on a glass of ice wine. That’s great. And I think brilliant advice, that our ice wines are wonderful and that we need to pop the cork more often at the end of the meal

Natalie:

we forget or we get too full or whatever. And that’s the one from Lightfoot, but that’s made from VDL beautiful [inaudible] and the Ortega grape from domain to grandpa is a, is lovely dry table wine. , all right. , Carl Jolie says, Amy, you are so right. Grape growing wineries are farming first and foremost. We know that in Prince Edward County, Ontario, what I’ve heard of, I’ve heard winemaking is, the phrase is fancied up farming.

Amy:

Yeah, I lied. Yeah. Rhinestones

Natalie:

on your overhauls. All right. But it’s, that’s basically what it is. You are really dependent on mother nature and the cycles and everything else. So you can do all the market research and focus groups and whatever else you want to do. But in the end, it’s, it’s down to an agricultural product and mother nature in the end. All right. So what else have we got here? , we’ve done, what was the other one? There’s Avondale sky, which is the lady slipper, which is a lovely flower in Nova Scotia. This is a Rosie made from, do you know the grape here?

Amy:

, yep. So it is, , Leon, me lo and Marquette. Yeah. Okay. So two right, great. Yup. , and which gives it that beautiful like Ruby slipper color. It’s just gorgeous. Yeah. Avondale sky being just an exceptional winery to visit. Speaking of agriculture, that’d be past the pastoral Hills. And, they kind of made headlines when they built there, , winery by, instead of building a new building, but a church at a neighboring community for a dollar. And then all the money floating it down the Avant river, cause it was too wide to go on the roads. So they get a barge and they floated the church from yeah. To there. And so just stunning to see the video of this church coming down the water to finally lay to rest at the winery.

Natalie:

I had no idea. I visited there about two weeks ago. Lovely. And the stained glass and everything else. It’s a gorgeous little winery and I had no idea. So I’ll look for that video when we’re done.

Amy:

Yeah, I think it’s probably the only, tasting room that has the pulpit is the tasting back. Amen.

Natalie:

May the spirit be with here. Yes. Hm. Oh, that’s pretty nice. And light. Cherry Berry. Good acidity again. And acidity is our friend when it comes to wine. It’s like salt to food brings forward flavor and is making my mouth water so much.

Amy:

Yeah. It’s just seriously drinkable.

Natalie:

Seriously drinkable. Absolutely. So good. , I had, I think we have one more that we wanted to taste together, I believe or ha. Nope. We’ve got to, we’ve got, I skipped over. Sorry, Rosa, but that’s okay. They’re all nice and light whites. The planters Ridge, which is a tidal Bay right there. And planters Ridge, new to me I need in my, on my radar. , won a lot of awards at the Atlantic Canada wine awards as well. , beautiful, beautiful expression at the tidal Bay. Not cloying, not sweet floral, but not over the top. What else can you tell us about this one?

Amy:

Yeah, just beautifully balanced. And so an exceptional little vineyard, very small. And they’ve taken the old heritage of the farming and renovated 150-year-old barn, which was a farm for eight generations, I think, seven or eight generations in, right along with the Wellington diets. , and really, an interesting winery, kind of trying out the different gray prices. So in this blend of tidal Bay, you’ll see some of the Minnesota grape varieties taking a role here with fund neck law and fun. I agree. And it really gives you those beautiful aromatics that you were talking to them.

Natalie:

So no soda. So from the state of Minnesota where they were originally planted or grafted her, made it vibrant. Beautiful. It is beautiful. If you like the Anya coverts demeanor or anything like that. , this is a lovely floral. But again, not too over the top, just night. I mean, I could imagine a mild to medium curries and spices, but also just fresh seafood, all kinds of great clothes. I mean, really very flexible. Definitely. Yeah. , and so let’s see. , Louise is asking, is the industry organized for winery tours and accommodations? Absolutely. I was there two weeks ago. Louise, I mean there’s just all kinds of things you can do and tours. Is there anything else you want to add, Amy? I mean, you’re built for tourism in the Annapolis Valley.

Amy:

, and the, the one is, especially here in Annapolis Valley being so concentrated in all kinds of within five kilometers, we have this wonderful, called the magic winery bus, which actually just launched in Ontario at 20, 20 then be 30 benches, , or 20 miles perhaps. It just launched last weekend in one particular wine region where megalomaniac units.

Natalie:

Yes. Yes. Okay. I know that one. Yeah, that winery. Yeah, absolutely. Or 2027 maybe.

Amy:

Okay. Yeah. And it’s wonderful, it’s a hop-on, hop-off a double Decker Silva and it picks you up in will fill, which is the main town here in the, in the Valley. , and it drives you to, to, the wineries and you can spend as much time as you like and then hop on. So it’s a really great tourism experience that really gives people that availability to see many wineries without having to drive. Fantastic. Yeah, lots of accommodations. , and that’s the thing about our province. We’re, we’re fairly small and so, the winery association States that no matter what vineyard you’re in Nova Scotia, you’re never more than 20 kilometers from the ocean. H. I love that. Yeah.

Natalie:

Well with all the beach walking and everything else. All right. We are eight minutes to the hour, so we are going to test Benjamin bridge before we run out of time. The Novo seven, which is the one we can find most easily. Seven. And this one, no, not this particular wine, but this winery got listed in Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant in London, England, which is like a three-star Michelin and he’s the one of course on the food network, kind of a picky guy when it comes to food and wine and a yet Benjamin bridge got on the restaurant list over there in London, UK. Pretty amazing.

Amy:

Pretty exciting. I often have said that we’ll know we’ve arrived on the wine scene here in Scotia when our wines are put on the list of where the seafood is already escorted too. I like that. Yeah. It’s a natural kind of like what grows together goes together and we, we know we expert so much seafood, which was just thrilling to see a Nova Scotia wine amongst some of the finest champagnes in the world on a three-star, two-star mission and then the producers being so, so, Nova Scotian really crediting not themselves, but the climate and the Bay of Fundy for, for the success, which is, really kind of, I think explains who we are here in Nova Scotia for sure.

Natalie:

That’s a great summary. So, Amy, I could talk another hour or two. , but what’s the best where what’s the best website for people to find out more about Nova Scotia wines?

Amy:

Absolutely. The, well the Winery Association of Nova Scotia has, so it’s a membership, it’s a membership-based, association. So it has a number of the wineries located on it as well as you could check a taste of Nova scotia.com and it’s, the membership-based organization as well. That’s, that is, all, all food-related and produces or pieces and producers. , and so you can find more information from wineries, is there as well.

Natalie:

Awesome. And what were those links on Facebook and also on the blog post that we created for this chat so that makes sure that people can connect and find out more about Nova Scotia wineries? You are an excellent ambassador of Nova Scotia wines. Amy, we really appreciate your time tonight. Great overview again, I could, I, I didn’t get to half my questions, which is a tribute to you. So thank you so very much for spending your time with us. Okay. All right. Okay, so I will say good night to you, Amy. Folks, hang on. I’ve got a couple of announcements before we wrap up tonight, so goodbye Amy, and good luck in

Amy:

soon. Okay, take care.

Natalie:

Bye.