Vineyards of Nova Scotia Excursion
Leaving the cruise ship Pavilion, we’ll tour along the shores of historic Halifax Harbour, which is the second-largest natural harbour in the world after Sydney Australia's harbour. Next, we’ll cross over the harbour via the second of the harbour bridges, the A. Murray MacKay, which opened in 1971. After a short drive through northern Dartmouth (founded in 1750), we’ll take Route 101 to the Annapolis Valley which is where we’ll find a number of award-winning vineyards.
Noava Scotia Grape History
Grapes were first planted in Nova Scotia at Bear River in 1611 by Louis Hebert. In 1980, Roger Dial re-started the industry by establishing Grand Pré Winery. The Jost family followed in 1983 with their first vineyard in Malagash, then Habitation Winery (now Blomidon Estate Winery) near Canning, and Sainte-Famille in 1990 near Falmouth. Currently, there are eight thriving vineyards in Nova Scotia. We will visit three during our Vineyard Excursion.
Sainte-Famille Vineyard is a small, family-owned winery located on an original Acadian Village site settled around 1685 known as "La Paroisse Sainte-Famille De Pisiquit". This area of Nova Scotia is now known as Falmouth. The Sainte-Famille Vineyard won a gold medal in New York for it's red wine, Michurinetz, and a bronze medal for it's red wine, Marechal Foch. You will be able to taste a selection of their wines. As an option, you may choose to pair these with a selection of local cheeses. To more fully appreciate the process behind the making of wine, a full tour of the vineyard / winery is available if you so choose.
Located near the Town of Wolfville is one of the newer vineyards, Muir Murray Estate Winery. This ‘new kid on the block’ consists of 20 acres of vineyards with truly outstanding (some might say unique) views of Cape Blomidon (the native Mi’kaq’s Glooscap was created near Cape Blomidon). Once again, you’ll be able to taste a variety of wines, such as their Valley Mist-Seyval which is said to be reminiscent of Riesling. As of late January, 2010, Muir Murray is planning to begin to offer their guests either an “Afternoon English Tea Service“ and/or possibly a luncheon service. So, in addition to sampling their wines, we may be able to have lunch at the winery as well. If not, that’s okay as Wolfville is a college town (home to Acadia University) and has dozens of dining spots to choose from. They run the gamut from sandwich shops to award-winning restaurants, so there’s sure to be something for everyone.
After Wolfville, we’ll drive to the Gaspereau Valley which is home to Gaspereau Winery, a small boutique winery showcasing some of the best wines Nova Scotia has to offer. The land where Gaspereau Vineyards is located was once apple orchards. Planted in 1996, the 35 acres of vineyards thrive on the south-facing slope which has ideal soil and climate conditions. Nova Scotia has the ability to produce grapes with the excellent sugars and acid balance needed to create outstanding wines that compliment Nova Scotia's bounty from both land and sea.
Some award winning wines include:
- 2006 DeChaunac (Dry) $15.99 750 ml.
- Gold Medal - 2008 AllCanadian Wine Competition
- Reserve Port (Medium) $19.99 500 ml.
- Gold - 2008 All-Canadian Wine Competition
- Gold - 2008 Tasters Guild International Competition
- 2007 Rose (Medium) $15.99 750 ml.
- 2008 Seyval Blanc (Medium) $16.99 750 ml.
(We have nicknamed this wine "Dangerously Drinkable" because it goes down so smooth and easy!)
Following our time at Gaspereau Vineyards, we’ll drive through a section of the scenic, agricultural landscape of the Gaspereau Valley on our way to Highway 101 which is the route we’ll use to return to your ship at the cruise ship Pavilion.
The Vineyards of Nova Scotia excursion will take approximately 6.5 hours (+/-) and is fully narrated by your driver/guide. The staff at the various wineries are experts with regard to their own particular wines, and on the wines of Nova Scotia in general.
As with all our excursions and tours, The Vineyards of Nova Scotia excursion itinerary can be modified in a number of ways, for example:
- visit one vineyard and Grand Pré
- combine a visit to Grand Pré, a vineyard, a cheese farm and the Blomidon Look-Off
- visit one, two, or three different vineyards than those mentioned above
- combine a visit to a vineyard, Prescott House, and tour of Hall’s Harbour