Nova Scotia Wineries

Nova Scotia wineries have undergone a giant expansion in the last twenty-five years as close to a dozen new wineries have opened for business and began marketing their wines.

At first blush, you would not expect Nova Scotia to have a flourishing wine-making business.

Yet, the opposite is true.

And with the big increase of wine consumption over the last 25 years, due to the many publicized reports of an increase of health benefits resulting from moderate wine drinking, the number of wineries throughout Nova Scotia greatly increased as it was discovered that the soil and climate in some regions of the province allowed for good wine vintages.

The first efforts at wine making began well over thirty years ago and were not greatly successful.

But thst all changed with the beginnings of the Jost Winery on the Malagash Peninsula. Over the years it has produced many prize-winning wines including world class ice wines.

The success of Jost has brought in many imitators and it is now possible to visit wineries in many parts of the province.And as the business expanded, the Winery Association of Nova Scotia was formed with the sole directive to market Nova Scotia wines to the public.

In 2004, this newly formed organization created and adopted the Wine Standards for all Nova Scotia wines. The top priority was that all wines made in Nova Scotia had to made from 100% grown grapes or fruit actually grown in the province.

A new logo was soon created to identify what products met this criteria.

Today, there are almost a dozen Nova Scotia wineries in the province. Most of these wineries make their product from grapes, but a few of them grow and use local fruits such as blueberries, apples and other native fruits and berries in their wines-making.

Tours and Tastings

• Annapolis Valley, including the Gaspereau Valley

• South Shore (LaHave River Valley)

• Bear River Valley

• Avon River Valley

Some of these Nova Scotia wineries have a retail store on their property, offer a tour of their vineyards and premises, and offer wine tastings of some of their product. For additional information, let's choose some of these popular wineries:

• Jost Vineyards

• Domaine de Grand Pre

• Sainte Famille Vines

• Gaspereau Vineyards

A great glass of wine is the result of a combination of the fruit, the land, and the climate. Nova Scotia is an award winning combination.

For More information:

Jost Vineyards

Domaine de Grand Pre

Sainte Famille Wines

Gaspereau Vineyards

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