| When
I think of Canada’s best known wine producing areas that have become major
tourist destinations what naturally springs to mind are Ontario’s Niagara
region and various parts of climate-friendly British Columbia--never Nova
Scotia which is best known for Keith’s beer and a population penchant for
rum. |
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However, during a recent trip to the province
whose vehicle license plates declare it “Atlantic Canada’s Playground”
I discovered there is indeed a thriving wine-making industry that is just
beginning to get the attention it deserves. Historically, visitors have
been attracted to Nova Scotia for a variety of reasons including Cape Breton’s
Cabot Trail, scenic Peggy’s Cove, the UNESCO site of Lunenburg and the
culturally rich city of Halifax. Wine can now be added to the province’s
maritime cachet.
While its unlikely the emergence of wineries
will ever upstage Nova Scotia’s long-standing attractions, they do however
further enrich its overall character. “Visitors often come here not knowing
we have any wineries at all and they’re astounded at the quality of the
wine. They (the wineries) have actually extended the tourist season in
the province well into the late fall,” says Randy Brooks, Travel Relations
Manager for Nova Scotia Tourism. “In the very near future we will have
a fully developed wine route,” he says. At present there are seven full
fledged wineries and one of the movers and shakers in the industry, winery
owner Hanspeter Stutz, predicts at least ten more will spring up over the
next decade.
| Stutz’s
winery, Domaine de Grand Pre, is indeed a poster operation for the entire
Nova Scotia wine industry. In fact, you might call the Swiss-born entrepreneur
a visionary of sorts. During a business trip to Nova Scotia in the early
1990s he happened upon a small, under-producing winery in the Annapolis
Valley, the historic home of viticulture in the province. |
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Although he didn’t have a background in
either grape growing or wine making, he saw enormous undeveloped potential
based on climate, location and the province’s popularity as a tourist destination.
It turned out his vision was right on target.
He purchased the grape growing estate he named Domaine de Grand Pre and
over the past decade has turned it into not only an award winning winery
but one of the Annapolis Valley‘s primary tourist attractions. In the first
year alone Stutz’s wines garnered three prestigious awards and his accomplishments
since then have been recognized by the province which presented him with
Nova Scotia’s “Tourism 1st Vision Award.”
| About
two hours northwest of Halifax and minutes from the town of Wolfville,
Domaine de Grand Pre is open year round for tours, wine tastings, boutique
shopping and, last but not least, dining in the estate’s Restaurant Le
Caveau which serves world-class Swiss cuisine. |
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Not only is the winery a labour of love
for its owner, the entire operation is a family affair. Stutz’s son is
chief wine maker who studied his craft in Munich, Germany, his son-in-law
(a professional chef) creates Le Caveau’s remarkable cuisine, his daughter
manages the restaurant and his daughter-in-law oversees the gift boutique
and wine-tasting centre. Stutz is also proud to be a member of the prestigious
Atlantic Economuseum, a unique network of artisans who represent the rich
traditions of their trade. Economuseums incorporate interpretation of the
history of the craft (in this case winemaking), contemporary exhibits,
demonstrations of the production process and a boutique that features products
made on site.
On any given day, bus tours and a steady
stream of independent tourists arrive at Domaine de Grand Pre to explore
the facility renowned for its decidedly Nova Scotia wines such as L’Acadie
Blanc, Seyval Blanc and an award winning Marechal Foch red, plus a Vidal
ice wine and a taste pleasing Stutz cider.
| While
there is yet no official wine route mapped out in a travel brochure Brooks
says an official route map is not far down the road. For the present, however,
the province’s wineries are easily found by following blue highway signs
featuring a cluster of grapes identical to the signage used in Ontario’s
Niagara region. |
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Among those wineries grouped in the Annapolis
Valley is Gaspereau Vineyards just 3 km from downtown Wolfville. Once an
apple orchard, the vineyards here were planted in 1996 and among its several
red and white vintages Gaspereau has also produced an award winning ice
wine. East of Gaspereau Vineyards near the town of Windsor, the Sainte-Famille
Winery overlooks the Avon River Valley and its south facing location has
fostered the production of rich, full bodied reds and whites. Like the
other wineries, tours here explore the art of wine making from grapes to
glass. Located along the shores of the Bay of Fundy’s Minas Basin, Blomidon
Estate Winery offers superb views of the highest tides in the world and
produces its vintages from some of the oldest vines in the province.
On Nova Scotia’s south coast, not far
from Lunenburg, the Lunenburg County Winery produces both grape and fruit
wines. Like Domaine de Grand Pre, this too is a family operation that specializes
in wines made from fruits grown on their own farm including blueberries,
raspberries, apples, peaches and pears. Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore
is home to Jost Vineyards, an operation that produces white, red and fruit
wines. In a blind taste test against 594 other Canadian wines, Jost Vineyards
1999 Vidal ice wine was named Canada’s Wine of the Year 2000, a recognition
that marked the first time in 20 years a wine from outside Ontario and
British Columbia received this distinction.
For more winery information, general Nova
Scotia travel information, free guides and maps call toll free 1-800-565-0000
or go online at www.novascotia.com.
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