Wine Growing Regions: Nova Scotia
This north Atlantic province has been better known for its fishing fleets than its vineyards, however, four stalwart grape wineries are holding the banner for a small but proud industry.
Although it is located on the sea, the climate is considered to be a modified continental climate experiencing storms more frequently throughout the year than any other part of Canada. Two growing areas have a sufficiently longer growing season for vine growth: the coast along the Northumberland Strait and the Annapolis Valley. The Northumberland Strait, the warmest salt waters north of the Carolinas, is shallow and sheltered, warming up more in summer than many other coastal areas, providing ample amounts of autumn heat. Winter ice in the Strait delays early spring frosts.
The 40 square kilometres (25 square miles) of the Annapolis Valley is sandwiched between an escarpment on the north and a second set of mountains on the south that shelter this lowland and provide the warmest temperatures and second lowest precipitation totals in the province resulting in the longest growing season and frost-free periods in Nova Scotia. Degree days range from 777- 917 (°C), with winter temperatures averaging - 15°C ( -5 ° F)
There are 26 growers managing about 325 acres of vines, mostly French hybrid with a few acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Soils of the coastal growing areas are extremely diverse ranging form sandy loam of the Annapolis Valley that often require lime to reach proper pH levels, to clay, clay loam and sandy loam.
* Since Nova Scotia doesn’t produce Vitis Vinifera grapes or VQA wines, the areas in which grapes are grown are referred to as Growing Areas” as opposed to designated “Viticultural Areas”, which implies legal jurisdiction.