L'Acadie Vineyards Blog

8 Bucket-List Wineries You Need to Visit in Canada

 Thanks Daily Hive and Allison Wallace for including us in 8 Bucket-List Wineries You Need to Visit in Canada

Visit us in Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia

Making Compost Tea

Making Compost Tea

Compost tea is an important part of our veganic practices, for organic and Biocyclic Vegan wine. Here is a little video.

1. we compost our grape pomace, no animal manures
2. Benefits: manage our living soil=better terroir flavours in wine, better disease resistance, micronutrients that activate positive plant responses

 

For more videos on winemaking and grape growing, see our winemaker's Youtube channel Professor Bubbly

 

Joie de Vivre wins Gold at National Wine Awards of Canada

Results from the 2022 National Wine Awards of Canada

 

Pleased to share that Joie de Vivre was awarded Gold and 92 points at the 2022 National Wine Awards of Canada in the prestigious and competitive sparkling category! This charmat method sparkling has been very popular since first release in 2021. Certified organic and vegan wine.

 

2019 Vintage Cuvee was awarded silver and 90 points. Read about the 2019 growing season and why you should be searching out this vintage of traditional method wines from Nova Scotia. Continuing a legacy of highly awarded vintages with a trifecta of 90, 92 and 90 points for 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Both are available online and in our Gaspereau wineshop. Wine tastings available, appointments highly recommended. Book here

 

Joie de Vivre in East Coast Living Magazine - Summer 2022

IN THE NEWS 

East Coast Living - Summer 2022 issue: Sparkling Wines of Summer

Experience a wine tasting of Joie de Vivre and our traditional method sparkling wines at our Wolfville winery in beautiful Gaspereau Nova Scotia. Have a wine tour and learn about our certified organic and Biocyclic Vegan practices.

June Newsletter

New Releases and a Word from our Winemaker

Wineshop and Tastings

Welcome to a new season of local wine! We are excited to greet visitors again with our award winning sparkling and still wines!! Certified organic and vegan, from soil to glass!! 

 Our open-air tastings and tours are by appointment again this year to ensure COVID-safe and intimate experiences.  Masks are required in the wineshop. 

Hours: Monday-Saturday 10:30-5pm, Sundays 12-4pm

New Releases

2021 Tidal Bay - we join other wineries of Nova Scotia in presenting our style of Tidal Bay: crisp and dry with enhanced minerality from our rocky ancient seabed terroir. Certified organic and Biocyclic Vegan wine, from soil to glass. Have a vertical tasting at home while our library of 2020 Tidal Bay lasts!

2021 Rose - all of our 2021 vintage wines have the Biocyclic Vegan certifying logo on the label. This year's organic vegan Rose is dry with strawberry and lime aromas. 

2021 Star - It's back! We haven't released Star for several years, and many will remember this past award-winning white wine. Rich and weighty from skin contact of the ripest vegan and organic grapes from 2021. Winery and website exclusive

2020 Joie de Vivre - our newest sparkling wine, charmat method! A huge crowd pleaser and perfect for spring entertaining with many vegan food pairing options such as fresh salads and cold pasta dishes.

2015 Prestige Brut Estate wins Bronze at Decanter World Wine Awards 2022

We are pleased that our 2015 Prestige Brut Estate earned a bronze and 88 points at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards held in London, England. Scoring in the top 15 sparkling wines in Canada at this prestigious wine competition, this is the third vintage in a row for our certified organic and vegan Prestige Brut Estate to be awarded. Grapes are from the same block of our organic and vegan estate vineyard planted with L’Acadie blanc in 2006 on ancient seabed soil of schist, sandstone and slate gravels.

Wine club members have been getting first bottles and expected full release will be July 2022 at the winery.

“We bought our 30 acres of paradise in Gaspereau back in 2004 inspired by the soil and location potential for sparkling wine. It is so satisfying to earn international awards for our sparkling wines that are rooted over a metre deep into organic living soil.”, Bruce Ewert, co-owner and winemaker L’Acadie Vineyards.

 

A Word from our Winemaker Bruce Ewert

I would like to share with you why retail prices have increased on our wines. The primary reason for this increase is because of the $0.52 per bottle excise tax imposed by the federal government going into effect on July 1. This tax is the result of an Australian government trade challenge on the wine industry’s previous exemption that the Canadian government was unable to successfully defend. There are also mandatory price increases by NSLC for our listed wines that affect all retail locations. 

On a positive ending note, the 2022 growing season is going well and the vines are starting to flower - you can smell it!. Our viticulture team has been working hard removing suckers from the trunks, controlling weeds with a tractor-mounted grape hoe, and tying canes. 

 

 

Local        ~        Organic        ~        Vegan        ~         Excellence

.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

2015 Prestige Brut Estate Wins Bronze at 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards in London, England

 

We are pleased that our 2015 Prestige Brut Estate earned a bronze and 88 points at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards held in London, England. Scoring in the top 15 sparkling wines in Canada at this prestigious wine competition, this is the third vintage in a row for our certified organic and vegan Prestige Brut Estate to be awarded. Grapes are from the same block of our organic and vegan estate vineyard planted with L’Acadie blanc in 2006 on ancient seabed soil of schist, sandstone and slate gravels.

“We bought our 30 acres of paradise in Gaspereau back in 2004 inspired by the soil and location potential for sparkling wine. It is so satisfying to earn international awards for our sparkling wines that are rooted over a metre deep into organic living soil.”, Bruce Ewert, co-owner and winemaker L’Acadie Vineyards.

 

Vegan from Soil to Glass - Poured Canada

Vegan Wine Article by Bruce Ewert in Association of Sommeliers International ASI magazine

 

 

 

Spring Wineshop Opening

Spring Wineshop Opening

Wineshop and Tastings

 

Our wineshop at our Gaspereau winery near Wolfville opens May 6, 2022. Wine tastings and wine tours are by appointment and outside again this year to ensure COVID safe and intimate experiences.  Masks are required in the wineshop. 

Hours: Monday-Saturday 10:30-5pm, Sundays 12-4pm

We are very excited to greet visitors this tourist season with our award winning still and sparkling wines!! Certified organic and vegan, from soil to glass!!

 

New Releases

 

2021 Tiday Bay - we join other wineries of Nova Scotia is presenting our style of Tidal Bay, crisp and dry with enhanced minerality from our rocky ancient seabed terroir. Certified organic wine and certified Biocyclic Vegan wine, from soil to glass. Vertical tastings available while our library of 2020 Tidal Bay lasts!

2021 Rose - all of our 2021 vintage wines have the Biocyclic Vegan certifying logo on the label. This year's organic vegan Rose has strawberry and lime aromas and it's dry. 

2021 Star - It's back! We haven't released Star for several years, and many will remember this past award-winning white wine. Rich and weighty from skin contact of the ripest vegan and organic grapes from 2021! 

2020 Joie de Vivre - our newest sparkling wine, charmat method! A huge crowd pleaser and perfect for spring entertaining with many vegan food pairing options such as fresh salads and cold pasta dishes.

 

How to Visit Us

 

There are many ways to visit us in the Gaspereau Valley. 

Self Drive - we are about an 8 minute drive from exit 9 off of highway 101. Directions

Tour Partners - book your day of visiting Nova Scotia wineries with any of these incredible wine tour companies,

Uncork Nova Scotia Wine Tours

Grape Escapes Nova Scotia Wine Tours

Magic Winery Bus - on Thursdays and Fridays

Wild Grape Wine Tours - choose Escape Through the Vines tour

Where It's At Winery Tours

 

 

 

 

 

Biodynamic and Biocyclic Vegan - what's the difference?

Both names start with “bio” and there are other similarities, but Biodynamic and Biocyclic Vegan practices diverge when it comes to animal use.

Our winery in Gaspereau, Nova Scotia is certified Organic, grape growing and winemaking, and recently also certified Biocyclic Vegan from soil to glass. Our reasons for following these standards are that organic vegan wine is good for the planet, animals and people. Most people are familiar with Organic farming but may not have heard of Biocyclic Vegan or Biodynamic farming. Let’s compare all three.

 

Pesticides

There are many pesticides allowed for grapes, surface and internal acting. Grapes are listed as one of the dirty dozen, a list of heavily sprayed fruits and vegetables published by the Environmental Working Group. Hybrid grapes are fairly disease-resistant but more and more disease-susceptible vinifera grapevines are planted in Nova Scotia every year. Organic production follows the Canadian Organic Standard, the practice of producing food without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified organisms (GMO), and certified organic is required to be able to certify your winery to Biodynamic or Biocyclic Vegan Standards.

 

Living Soil and Fertilizer

All three practices promote healthy microbial life in the soil. The concept is that the farmer manages the soil so that it can provide for the vine, rather than the conventional approach of feeding the vine directly with synthetic fertilizers. Biocyclic Vegan and Biodynamic farming both rely on enriching cover crops between the rows to hold carbon (regenerative agriculture) and to transfer atmospheric nitrogen to the soil. Compost teas, either plant residue or animal manure-based, are used to grow beneficial organisms to increase and stimulate life in the soil and on the vine. This is the first diverging practice - Biocyclic Vegan prohibits anything from animals so only plant residue teas are allowed such as composted grape pomace and there is a reliance on cyclical humus management with composted plant material. A second difference is the spiritual approach of Biodynamic - planting by calendar and using preparations such as burying cow horns filled with manure.

 

Biodiversity

All three practices promote harmony with nature.  They support ecological protection and animal welfare, and the Biocyclic Vegan approach goes further by excluding all animals, both working animals and inputs from them, recognizing that there are deep ethical considerations. Biodiversity practices that follow this ethos strive for a higher level of harmony than Organic.  Biodynamic has animal use required and takes into account the rhythms of nature with a more spiritual approach. 

Both Biocyclic Vegan and Biodynamic have human development at their core, nuturing the social and economic development of people.

 

 

Winemaking

Organic winemaking is the logical final step to shepherd a wine to the bottle. The Canada Organic Standard has a limited list of natural and non-GMO additives that are allowed and the resulting organic logo on the bottle signifies traceability and third party inspections to give consumers confidence. If the wine is not certified organic with the logo on the label, the grapes can be from conventional sources, even if the winery estate vineyard is certified organic. Both Biocyclic Vegan wine and Biodynamic wine have their own additional logo and the same disconnect in traceability happens if they are not on the label. The major difference for the Biocyclic Vegan Standard is that it prohibits all animal inputs in winemaking, which can include gelatin and egg whites. 

               

 

Environmental

This is where the divide widens considerably in Biocyclic Vegan’s favour. By prohibiting all animal inputs, it is not supporting the well documented global warming impact of the livestock industry. Biodynamic farming has animal use as its foundation with manures and preparations using animal organs, but has non-intensive and lower yielding requirements to lessen its environmental impact.

 

A final note. Our reasons for choosing the Biocyclic Vegan approach from "soil to glass" are rooted in a love for all living beings. As we grow our winery and inspire others, it is important to be informed and know that we all can make a difference.

"When you know better, you do better" ~ Maya Angelou