After working as a sommelier in one of Halifax’s oldest and best-known hotels, I’ve had plenty of experience speaking with tourists about Nova Scotia’s wines. Unless they too are from an area that grows hybrids, I am met with a very confused look when presenting the wines.
The heritage of the grapes that make our favorite wines has always been European, but will it remain so? Are there currently legitimate rivals to the vinifera monopoly that has ruled our palates? “Drink American” could be the slogan for the United States’ fairly recent class of vanguard winemakers and vintners declaring that there are.
Can American Vitis species produce wines that compare with those made from vinifera on a global stage? If so, will the wine traditionalists ever accept them? While continued research and experimentation with these varieties will hopefully answer these questions, perhaps an educational introduction will get the ball rolling.