A super Nova

Lawrence Goldsmith drinks in the province's atmosphere, culture and its moreish wine

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My preconceived idea of Nova Scotia was of a vast unspoilt wilderness, spectacular coastlines and great seafood, particularly lobster.

All this is present and correct but it came as a surprise that the province also has 20 vineyards producing world class wines. It's a young industry and hardly any of their wine gets exported, hence why it's not well-known. And such is the local demand for the home grown pinots and chardonnays that the winemakers can only produce enough to supply the domestic market.

Eager to learn more, we visited Atlantic Canada’s oldest farm winery, Domaine de Grand Pre, in the Annapolis Valley. It is Atlantic Canada’s wine country with more than 70 grape growers (grandprewines.com).

You can just show up to Domaine and ask for a wine tasting experience, so we did. It's run by the Stutz family, originally from Switzerland. Opening in 1994, they brought the expertise of European vineyards to Nova Scotia. They are quite adventurous, producing an unusual Orange Wine which is a vivid colour and surprisingly palatable.

The best seller is their Tidal Bay - the signature wine of Nova Scotia. It was launched in 2012 as a perfect pairing for the fabulous local seafood. It's a blended wine which I found to be cool, crisp and very moreish.

We stayed on at Domaine and had dinner in a beautiful courtyard overlooking the vineyard. Voted one of the top 20 winery restaurants in the world, the food doesn't disappoint.

As well as gaining a reputation as a quality wine producing region, Nova Scotia has a fast-growing fine dining scene especially in the capital, Halifax. We visited two new restaurants rapidly gaining a reputation for excellence.