L'Acadie Vineyards Blog

How to Serve Sparkling Wine

Opening

Keep your hand on the cork! Release the cage with one hand and keep the other hand on the cork. Hold it and twist the bottle until you feel the pressure pushing it out. Get the perfect "pffftt" like a master sommelier, or a crowd pleasing "pop!" by letting it come out slower or faster. This video from our friends at Taste of Nova Scotia is a good primer on opening a bottle of sparkling,

 

Pouring

Always chill sparkling wines to fridge temperatures (4C) to enhance retention of bubbles. A flute is ideal but larger glass bowls better coax the aromas from well-aged wines like Prestige Brut Estate . Make sure the glass is clean and doesn't have soap residue. A full serving is 4 ounces (120ml) and to enhance enjoyment of aromas only fill to 1/3 to 1/2 full....and fill more often. Pro tip: tilt the glass and gently pour to preserve bubbles. No need to swirl - the bubbles will bring the toasty aromas to your nose.

Storing

Use a champagne stopper that secures onto the glass ring of the bottle, the same area that the wire cage held onto.....avoid expanding-style of stoppers - they can become rockets if too much pressure builds. Should keep for 3-5 days in fridge.

Champagne stopper available in our wineshop

Food Pairings

Many seafoods pair well with sparkling wine - "what grows together, goes together" is a favourite maritime expression. Think mussels, lobsters and oysters. But don't stop there - consider any food that has a salty component like potato chips and popcorn. Of course mild chesses are always a hit with guests, especially an assortment of soft cheeses. For curried and spicy dishes, choose our most aromatic sparklings like Rose Brut, or consider trying our traditional method cider, Duncanson Brook Cider

Visit our Recipe page for ideas such as Vegan Carbonara paired with Joie de Vivre charmat sparkling

Vintage 2022 and Climate Change in Nova Scotia

Vintage 2022 is now complete and amid these record-breaking warm November temperatures it is time to reflect on how climate change is affecting our wine region and our Gaspereau winery. But first, let’s compare another wine region, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.

I made sparkling wine in the Okanagan as head winemaker at See You Later Ranch winery and then Summerhill Pyramid winery for eight years before we moved back to Nova Scotia in 2004. It’s hot there. Quite often 40C hot. I had to make many compromises to produce sparkling wine in that heat, quite often having to pick grapes early to avoid too much sugar accumulation, to avoid boozy alcoholic base wines. But the problem was the flavours weren’t always there yet – the seeds were green.

We moved to Nova Scotia to eventually release the province’s first traditional method sparkling wines and I felt like we had found sparkling paradise. Compromises were in my rear-view window – I bragged to my winemaking friends in BC about the moderate sugar levels, acid retention and perfectly ripe grapes, with lignified brown seeds. These are ideal conditions for a world-class sparkling region!

There is a warming trend in Nova Scotia, especially since 2020, and we have been watching grape acidity levels more closely and harvesting earlier for perfect freshness. Vintage 2022 was the warmest season in three years and we picked early, in September, but it’s important to note that our characteristic flavours from our unique terroir didn’t change. A potential impact with a shorter growing season that we are not seeing yet.

• Cooler climate Nova Scotia

Other Effects

Other effects of climate change in our wine region can be viewed as negative, and sometimes cautiously positive. Hurricanes can damage fragile grapevine shoots and even break trellis posts, especially is they occur when there is full foliage acting like a sail in the wind. Droughts can cause vine stress for our non-irrigated farming systems. Extreme weather is scary. Milder winters can allow more insects to survive, and there are new vineyard pests on our doorstep that could flourish.

It is hard to pull benefits from global warming, but milder winters and more heat units in the growing season could allow Nova Scotia to grow more sensitive grape varieties such as Chardonnay.

So How Can We Adapt?

We planted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon blanc in 2019 on our Gaspereau Valley estate, and made sure to use drought resistant root stocks as much as possible. These are planned for sparkling wine styles with expected higher acidity retention, and wouldn’t it be great to produce a racy Sancerre-style still wine in the warm years. 

We invested in a very ambitious charmat sparkling project in 2019 and after pandemic-related delays with equipment delivery from Italy we released Joie de Vivre in 2021. It complements our iconic traditional method sparkling line-up with an earlier-release, fruitier sparkling wine. Very popular. And adaptable to future warmer growing seasons.

• A new sparkling style - charmat method

Certified organic production, and now also certified Biocyclic Vegan from soil to glass, gives us more resilience to drought and pest pressures. Our practices of encouraging living soils with high fungal composted grape pomace, coupled with cover crops to keep carbon in the soil and encouraging biodiversity sets up a favourable environment for extreme weather. In this way, we are also doing our part to not add to global warming by producing organic wines and vegan wines.

Devour Food Film Festival 2022 - Plant-Based Theme

We have been a long-term partner with DEVOUR! Food Film Festival in Wolfville and this year the festival’s plant-based theme has us especially intrigued! It’s a perfect venue to share our recent Biocyclic Vegan certification news and vegan organic wines by hosting a workshop, sponsoring the Awards Ceremony and partnering with film viewing. We hope you can join us! 

Biocyclic Vegan Wines w/Bruce Ewert Workshop

Sunday, October 30, Devour! Studios at 360 Main Street and Online, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., 100 attendees

L'Acadie Vineyards proprietor & winemaker Bruce Ewert gives us a tasting and workshop exploring the organic wines and terroir of his Gaspereau Valley winery, the first certified Biocyclic Vegan winery in North America.

 

Devour! Golden Tine Awards Ceremony, 2023 Theme Announcement & Reception

Sunday, October 30, Devour! Studios at 360 Main Street and Online, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., 150 attendees

Join us in celebrating the very best of the 2022 festival at our Devour! Golden Tine Awards Reception where we will present our coveted Golden Tine Awards for this year’s films in five categories: Best Animation, Best Short Documentary, Best Short Drama, Best Feature Documentary, and Best Feature Drama. Winners are chosen by our esteemed jury. This reception will also feature L'Acadie Vineyards vegan wines and light bites prepared by Chef Renee Lavallee to announce our 2023 theme.

 

Film Sponsorship - The End of Medicine

Thursday, October 27, 1:00pm at Al Whittle Theatre 

The End of Medicine exposes the link between our treatment of animals and emerging health threats such as pandemics and antimicrobial resistance. The film sheds light on the largely overlooked impending medical threat warned by CDC and WHO experts, and investigates the role animals play in disease outbreaks and the end of medicine as we know it.

USA, 2022, 70 minutes
Director: Alex Lockwood
Distributor: Lockwood Film

 

Film Sponsorship - Blind Ambition

Thursday, October 27, 8 p.m. at the Al Whittle Theatre

Having escaped starvation and tyranny in their homeland of Zimbabwe, four refugees have conquered the odds to become South Africa’s top sommeliers. Driven by relentless optimism, a passion for their craft, and unshakeable national pride, they form Zimbabwe’s first-ever wine tasting team and set their sights on the coveted title of “World Wine-Tasting Champions”. From the moment they arrive in France to compete, this team of mavericks turns an establishment of privilege and tradition on its head. 

Australia, 2021, 96 minutes

Directors: Warwick Ross & Rob Coe

Distributor: levelFILM

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. Organic and vegan, soil to glass.

 

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

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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 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