A aron Little, the man responsible for the spectacular horticulture and golf course at Fox Harb’r Resort, says growing grapes isn’t that different from growing grass, flowers and shrubs.
In 10 years or so, we’ll know if he’s just as good at it.
Across the road from the flowery entrance to the resort, on a slope that goes down to the shore, are Fox Harb’r’s vines.
“We started in 2015, the first two plantings are L’Acadie Blanc and Riesling, then we went ahead in 2016 with Lucie Kuhlman and New York Muscat varieties, and in 2017 we planted Chardonnay,” said Little, who’s added vineyard manager to his job title of superintendent. “It’s a 26-acre vineyard.”
In Nova Scotia, that’s a pretty good sized vineyard.
Fox Harb’r’s wine program, designed for the long haul, is being run in conjunction with nearby Jost Vineyards, where owner Carl Sparkes is providing expertise from his staff and space in his warehouse.
The two companies have a contract that calls for up to 20 per cent of production to be bottled under the Fox Harb’r label, with 80 per cent used in Jost products. Jost staff will make and bottle whichever wines are eventually produced under the resort’s name.
“One reason we put the Chardonnay in is to make the very best blanc de blanc style sparkling wine,” said Kevin Toth, Fox Harb’r president. “We want to make high end sparkling, and we think we’re going to be able to compete with Benjamin Bridge and L’Acadie Vineyards, which make great sparkling wines. That’s where we want to go.”
Benjamin Bridge aged its first blanc de blanc for nine years before offering it for sale, but at Toth says, “we’re not in a rush.”
In the meantime, Fox Harb’r might also end up producing some varietals, including Chardonnay, as well as the Nova Scotia appellation Tidal Bay.
“We believe the Tidal Bay standard is a high standard, and we’re more than happy to be part of the Tidal Bay family and be able to offer it at Fox Harb’r because we think Tidal Bay is great wine, a great concept,” he said.
Toth said a quality wine program is in line with owner Ron Joyce’s goal to provide economic benefits to the north shore and will be another amenity the resort can provide to guests, consistent with its brand. He hopes to sell estate produced wines in the resort’s restaurants.
“And we hope that some day that you’ll be able to buy Fox Harb’r wine in the liquor stores,”
said Toth. “We’ve got some work to do . . . on how to get there but that’s certainly one of our goals.”
None of that can happen, though, unless things go well in the vineyard. Litttle is confident in the microclimate of his site, which used to be a sod nursery.
“We chose the site because it’s south-facing, that’s important for sunlight, and the way the rows run, it’s exactly north south,” he said. “The site made sense, the proximity to the water is important because you don’t get the temperature extremes.”
Little plans to make a significant harvest of Riesling and l’Acadie Blanc in the fall from the vines planted in 2015, and said the vineyard mostly escaped from the June frost that did so much damage in the Annapolis Valley.
“We did have minor damage over in our Chardonnay, the very young plantings, because they’re so close to the ground,” he said. “It was 10 rows in and that was it. Whether there was more moisture there I don’t know, but those ones got burnt.”
