L’Acadie Vineyards Wins Gold For 2007 Prestige Brut
Press Release – November 2, 2010
L’Acadie Vineyards, Nova Scotia’s first producer of Traditional Method sparkling wine, captured gold at the Annual Canadian Wine Awards in the sparkling wine category.
Canadian Wine Access Judge and Nova Scotia wine writer Craig Pinhey has high praise for the bubble, stating “Bruce Ewert has really forged new territory”.
With heavy hitters from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley and Ontario’s Niagara Region, winemaker‐owner Bruce Ewert has reason to celebrate. Only 3 sparkling wines have ever been awarded gold medals in the 10 year history of the Canadian Wine Awards. Not only did L’Acadie Vineyards take top honours in the prestigious sparkling category, the small winery also laid claim to a trio of Bronze for their 2008 Vintage Cuvee, 2009 Estate L’Acadie and 2008 Organic Cider.
The Canadian Wine Access judge panel is comprised of Canada’s top palates, headed
by Wine Access editor Anthony Gismondi. Typically held on the west and east coasts
in alternating years, the Canadian Wine Awards is a blind competition.
The L’Acadie Vineyards 2007 Prestige Brut is aged for 30 months on yeast lees in the
traditional sparkling method and is available for purchase at the wine shop, select liquor stores in Nova Scotia, both private and provincial, as well as the Halifax Seaport and Wolfville Farmer’s Markets. A bottle of the bubbly retails for $39.99 (including tax and bottle deposit).
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About L’Acadie Vineyards
L’Acadie Vineyards, founded in 2004 by Bruce Ewert and Pauline Scott, is located in a sub‐valley of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis, where mountain ridges retain heat and ocean breezes help moderate temperatures. Known for tree fruit, the Annapolis Valley is welcoming more grape growers every year. A gold win for L’Acadie Vineyards’s 2007 Prestige Brut is validation that the area provides an ideal climate for Traditional Method sparkling.
The winery is the first in Nova Scotia to release a sparkling wine crafted in this style,
and is the first to be certified organic. Other recent accolades include a silver medal
at the All Canadian Wine Championships and the Top Scoring Sparkling at the 2010
NSLC Port of Wines International Competition.
Craig Pinhey Review (full)
I had tried the wine before the competition, but not blind, so I was glad it showed so
well against very formidable competition, and found some fans among the esteemed
judges from across the country. Bruce Ewert has really forged new territory with his
Traditional Method sparklers, especially the ones based on L’Acadie, a grape that is pretty much only grown in Nova Scotia. 30 months on the lees! That’s an investment in time and money, but it paid off. He was confident getting into this project and wines like this prove him right.
Pale straw with a classic yeasty, bready nose, complimented by floral notes,
assumed to be varietal character contributed by L’Acadie, which is known for this.
This is a serious sparkling wine, austere, with very fine mousse and strong lees
contributions owing to the 30 months spent on lees. It tastes of lemon, is bone dry,
and has medium length from the bready aftertaste. This wine screams for oysters.
Craig Pinhey
Judge, Canadian Wine Access