Nova Scotia Fall Wine Festival Launch

This evening I was fortunate enough to attend the launch of the Nova Scotia Fall Wine Festival at Taboo nightclub on Grafton Street. Taboo, located in the old Attic location (sniff, sniff-I loved that place) has been newly renovated into a swank club for private functions. The wines were set up at separate stations, and paired with snacks from local restaurants and various producers.



I was thrilled to try some new wines, and refresh my palate with old favorites. At Gaspereau vineyard, Lucie Kuhlmann has been my long standing favorite. After tonight though, Lucie's got some competition in the form of Gaspereau's 04/05 Vitis, a Gold Medal winner in the 2007 Canadian Wine Competition. I had been to a wine tasting at the winery before, but I would have remembered this one. Vitis is Gaspereau's Premium Blend, combining the vineyard's Lucie Kuhlmann, DeChaunac and Baco Noir grapes. Perhaps I was drawn to this wine as it suggests nuances of my favorite characteristics; red berries, mocha and chocolate.

I also tried the winery's 2007 L'Acadie Blanc, a silver medal winner at the 2008 taster's Guild International Competition. This wine was light, crisp and tasty; a delightful pairing with J. Willy Krauch's luxurious morsel of smoked salmon and marscapone cheese. Now there's a rich dish.

Domaine de Grand Pre's Vitner's Reserve Ortega 2006 is always a winner for me. It also won a bronze medal at the 2007 Canadian Wine Awards. This made a wonderful pairing with The Five Fisherman Fish's bite of cucumber, tuna and capelin roe . The acidity of this wine was a fantastic complement to the salty caviar, melt-in-your-mouth tuna and crunchy cucumber.


I also got to try two newbies for me; Vitner's Reserve Foch 2006 and Vitner's Reserve Castel 2006. The Castel was a gold medal winner at the 2007 All-Canadian Wine Championship show, while the Foch has, quite frankly, won too many awards to list! The Foch is a failry light, fruity red, while the Castel was, without a doubt, the most full bodied Nova Scotian wine I've tried to date.

Unfortunately, I had a prior commitment, so I couldn't stay to taste all of the delectable offerings. Conveinently enough, though, most of these wineries offer their wares for sale at the Halifax Farmer's Market, as well as various independent liquor stores such as Luckett's, and Bishop's Cellar. I have to mention that I did swipe an unbelievably rich and creamy chocolate from The Sweet Spot Chocolate Shop for the road.

It was a great event, showcasing the province's wonderful wine selection, as well as as the partnerships formed between the wineries, Nova Scotian producers and local chefs. Congrats to all involved as this event served it's purpose, if only for one indivudual; to get out and seek out all that Nova Scotia's vineyards have to offer.

Contact the Winery Association of Nova Scotia for more information:

http://www.winesofnovascotia.ca/
http://www.gaspereauwines.com/
http://www.grandprewines.ns.ca/
http://www.bishopscellar.com/
http://www.cristallandluckett.com/