Many Nova Scotians focus on “buying local” to support their small businesses, shops and restaurants, and there’s been an increased push to support small wine producers as well.
Eric Jackson, the marketing manager of Water’n’Wine in Truro’s Fundy Trail Centre, says purchasing bottles of wine from small producers in your region also help support local talent.
“It’s analogous to choosing beer from a microbrewery,” explains Jackson. “You can find really unique products.”
He says there’s less risk for a smaller winery to try something new, so they often provide more experimental products using lesser-known grape varieties — whereas large producers tend to stay away from experimental products that may not appeal to a broader market.
It’s also a more personal experience.
“As wine drinkers, when we purchase local products at the source, we often get to deal with the farmhands and winemakers directly so there’s much more information available to us,” says Jackson. “I love having those conversations with the smaller producers, like Planters Ridge in Port Williams. They made a wonderful L’Acadie Blanc.”
He says smaller producers tend to source grapes from only a handful of vineyards so the grapes have regional characteristics you wouldn’t be able to taste if they’d been sourcing grapes from all over a particular country. For example, Nova Scotia is known for its acidic soil that results in really crisp, refreshing white wines.
“Be the kind of person who wants to encourage innovation by supporting these small producers,” says Jackson. “Otherwise we’ll only find products made for global appeal.”
The same concept happens with wine kits through what Jackson calls “a limited edition lineup,” produced from the grapes of relatively small growers around the world.
“These products are our highest-quality offerings, and being in the program means you pay a little less than what you’d typically pay for these wines,” says Jackson.
He says smaller producers also tend to have more variations between vintages, which makes for a more interesting taste experience.
“If I have a 2014 Yellowtail Shiraz, the 2015 or the 2016 are going to be pretty much the same because consumers expect a consistent product from a large producer,” says Jackson. “We’re not knocking that, of course, but we also really love the excitement associated with trying wine from a different harvest and seeing how much it can change.”
