I have been keeping an eye on what is happening in Nova Scotia. It’s been a few years since Benjamin Bridge made some waves when their Sparkling wine beat some of the best Champagnes France has to offer in a blind taste test. I had the opportunity to taste through some of the “Tidal Bay” wines being made in the maritime province. The grapes that are allowed to be used to make the Tidal Bay blends offer a long list of varietals to work from. The majority of the wine must be made (either alone or in combination) of L’Acadie, Seyval, Vidal and/or Geisenheim 318. This is where it gets interesting. You may also use any of the following secondary varietals, as long as they don’t make up more than forty nine percent of the final blend – Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chasselas, Auxerrois, Kentville White Varieties, Ortega, Siegerebe, Siegfried, Geisenheim (319, 322, or 6495-3), Cayuga, Minnesota Muscta, Petit Milo, or Frontenac Gris. And finally there is a list of Tertiary Varietals that cannot make up more than fifteen perfect of the final blend and these are Gewurztraminer, Perle of Csaba, Traminette, New York Muscat, Valvin or French-hybrid or Vinifera Muscat varieties. I know this post just got very geeky … so I won’t dwell on this a whole lot. It’s a lot of varietals, but what is interesting is that many of these are varietals that we don’t see in Ontario as they are hybrid varietals that are not allowed in the production of VQA wines. However the Tidal Bay wines are made with the intention of being light, low in alcohol and they are designed to pair with the local cuisine which is a lot of seafood.
The general flavours of the wines are light with slight floral qualities but a lot of lime and pink grapefruit flavours. The acidity is balanced with a nice clean finish and for the most part these wines were dry or just off-dry. They are light and refreshing and just the sort of thing to pair with Lobster, Crab, Freshly shucked oysters or just about any fish I could think of. The only downside to these wines are the price. Even though these are quite unique wines they do hover around the twenty dollar mark and higher.
There were twelve Tidal Bay wines at this tasting. The blends were obviously different on these wines but you do end up with a very pleasant and consistent flavour profile. Here were the four that really stood out to me.
2014 Mercator Vineyard – $24.99 – **** – This wine was bone dry with strong Lime and Grapefruit aromas and the same on the palate. There is a nice intensity of flavour that lingers even though the finish is quite clean and crisp.
2014 Benjamin Bridge – $21.95 – ****+ – There is a slight effervescence to this wine that has it dancing on your palate. There is a slight wild flower note to the nose but it is buried under layers of lemon and lime. This was easily one of the best on the table.
2014 Avondale Sky – $19.99 – **** – The balance on this wine was just awesome. There was a nice sweetness balanced perfectly with the acidity. This wine leans more towards lime and pink grapefruit.
2014 Jost – LCBO 431783 – $17.95 – ****+ – This is the only Tidal Bay currently available at the LCBO. There was some nice complexity to this wine. The nose had hints of almost wood smoke and fennel seed buried under the strong lemon notes. The flavours on this wine match the nose, but when you taste it you really need to search to find those fennel notes you detected on the nose. Just keep drinking they are in the glass somewhere!
