Written by Sean Wood | 01 January 2010

Winter 2008-2009 produced the most severe vineyard conditions experienced in many years. At one point, in the Gaspereau Valley, the temperature plummeted to -26˚C. Several tender varieties took a major hit. It was certainly a wake-up call after a long run of relatively benign winters. Interestingly, though, not all vineyards experienced the extreme cold. Notable exceptions were Blomidon Estate vineyards on the Minas Basin and Bear River in southwestern Nova Scotia. Temperatures in both locations dropped no further than -16˚C.

Nova Scotia is still a very young wine region and growers continue to learn just how important it is to choose the right vineyard site and, equally, to select varieties that will thrive best in each location. Still, viticulture has advanced sufficiently enough over the last 25 years or so that growers have a much better understanding of how to manage adverse conditions. While yields for some varieties will definitely be down this year, favourable conditions through the rest of the growing season could still produce some exceptionally good wines.

For the most part, the established wineries continue to do well. Nova Scotia’s wines now enjoy much wider distribution throughout the local system and are featured more prominently on restaurant wine lists. This year, two new kids arrived on the block, with others planning to open their doors in the next couple of years. Among them is local personality and entrepreneur, Pete Luckett. Luckett is widely known in the Maritimes for his Pete's Frootique specialty grocery stores. He also runs an immaculate farm in the Gaspereau Valley, which includes an eight acre vineyard. Plans are well under way for construction of a winery building to be opened as soon as next year.

Written by Evan Saviolidis | 30 December 2009

I still remember it as if it was yesterday. The date was September 16th, 1996. The event was my first day on the job at a Niagara-on-the Lake winery. Wet behind the ears, and eager to learn all things vinous, I was expecting glamorous tastings, tonnes of leisurely strolls in the lush vineyards and a plethora of discussions with wine lovers. Ah, youthful naiveté!

Not even five minutes on the job, and the first tourist bus pulled up. My boss whispered in my ear, “Watch this.” And out came 50 Japanese tourists on a whirlwind tour of Canada. They stepped up to the tasting bar and proceeded to purchase Icewine, by the case, at $500 a pop! Fifteen minutes later the tornado left and restocking began. My exact words to him, after returning from my proverbial Kansas were, “What the hell just happened?” He told me that ever since Inniskillin had won the Grand Prix d’Honneur at Vinexpo for its Icewine, Japanese consumers, seeking the best in all things libation, have been knocking on Canada’s viticultural door. Making it even more attractive for them was price — $45 a bottle at the winery, versus $300 back home. By the end of the day, another eight buses had pulled in and out, with the same results.

I asked Debi Pratt, director of Public Relations at Inniskillin, if the same conditions still exist today. “Gone are those good old days,” was her response. “At that time, we had groups of large buses with, for the most part, Japanese tourists. In fact, we had up to 30,000 per year, about 10% of our visitation. However, in early 2000, the Japanese economy started to decline, and then with 9/11 and SARS, the number of Japanese tourists declined as well. So now, we not only see smaller buses being used, with capacities of 15 to 20 people, but our clientele also includes Chinese and Korean visitors.”

Written by Carolyn Evans-Hammond | 28 December 2009

People go to parties for a good time — not because they are hungry or thirsty. As party patrons, we all know this. So why, then, does this knowledge seem to evaporate in the brains of so many hosts and hostesses? As soon as they start planning a do, off they go to shop. Some of them have the good sense to limit the quantity and insist on quality, but far too many get giddy and start with great long shopping lists pinned to recipes for gloppy potato salad and other horrors of Texan proportions. They stuff their fridges with hideous alcopops, too much beer, and bottles of heart-sinking wine — not to mention cans of soda and cheap liquor. It’s madness. And then, sadly, they invite us.

Of course we want to eat and drink at parties, but we want something to amuse our bouches, not glue them shut. What we really want is something elegant and interesting to accessorize the aperitif and lubricate the conversation. And some charming background music to set the scene.

So why do people get this so horribly wrong? I say, ditch the linen-look paper napkins, tacky wine charms, saccharine coolers and afterthought wallpaper music, and move to an altogether less aesthetically deficient style of entertaining. One that sets the tone for a good time rather than tries to put it on like a bad wig or a gigolo’s come-on.

The punch bowl is kitsch but passé. Flutes of Champagne are stylish but stuffy. And Pinot Grigio is popular but way too common. Would you like peanuts with that? Please. You might as well deck the halls with Martha Stewart and rejoice in a room that sings, “We match!”

Written by Tod Stewart | 25 December 2009

The sun was warm, the skies clear and the vignerons mighty pleased. So was I, as a matter of fact. I was told to expect grey drizzle and many occasions to try out my umbrella. Luckily, I got nothing like it. With temps in 20 degree Celsius range, blue skies and spectacular autumn reds and golds in the vineyards, the last week in October 2009 in France’s Loire Valley was certainly not what I anticipated. Not what the winemakers anticipated either.

Some were saying they hadn’t seen anything like it in 40 years. Others, like Pierre-Jean Sauvion, Oenologue and “Façonneur de plasir” at Château du Cléray-Sauvion in the Muscadet AOC compare it to more recent vintages. “The vintage 2009 in Muscadet will look like the 2005, so you can imagine how happy the growers are after the low yields of 2007 and 2008. On top of that, the berries were in very good health so we can do a lot of skin contact. What was surprising was that the fermentation took forever – at least a month – which is quite unusual but results in great complexity in flavour.”

Further inland, the news is generally the same. In AOC Savennières, home of the world’s most complex expression of the Chenin Blanc variety, Evelyne de Pontbriand of Domaine du Closel and President of AOC Savennières notes that the great weather allowed for harvesting of the tries (repeated passes through the vineyards to select fruit in a state of optimum ripeness) in a fairly relaxed manner. “We noticed that the areas where we have experimented with biodynamic practices gave particularly fine grapes.” Red varieties – Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon – also ripened well and the wines are showing richness in both colour and aromas.