Wineries of Nova Scotia

If you have ever been to the beautiful Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, you may have been able to stop at some of their amazing vineyards – if not – you definitely need to on your next visit!

This past October, Greg and I (and my mom and cousin) were able to check out four of the amazing vineyards that the valley has to offer. We had a lovely time and thoroughly enjoyed our visit at each one.

Our first stop was Lightfoot & Wolfville, followed by Domaine de Grand Pré winery, then Luckett Vineyard and ending at Benjamin Bridge. Take a look at each one below:

Lightfoot & Wolfville

Lightfoot & Wolfville is located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia right along the famous Bay of Fundy. Lightfoot & Wolfville is a newer winery in the valley. The facility itself only opened in 2017 (but the family started planting grapevines in 2009).

The building itself is absolutely beautiful, and they now have a gorgeous little patio to sit out and sip, or their big tent. We chose to sit in the tent this day as it was a bit windy, but the entire property is beautiful.

Vineyards at Lightfoot & Wolfville

The reason that Lightfoot & Wolfville was our first stop, was because we wanted to start our tour with lunch. They are a very popular place to dine, so make sure to make a reservation in advance! Lightfoot & Wolfville is famous for their wood-fired pizzas too, and they are so delicious.

We started with We opted for two options, a vegetarian, mushroom pizza and a sausage and goat cheese pizza. Both were really delicious and did not disappoint!

Wood-fired pizzas at Lightfoot & Wolfville

Their wines are also lovely. I ordered a flight to be able to try their selection, and Greg ordered a beer (he’s not as much of a wine drinker but did try some at some of the other locations!)

Included in my flight were their Bubbly White, Tidal Bay, L&W Rosé and their Fauna. I’m more of a white wine drinker, however their Fauna was a red wine blend and it was my favourite.

Bubbly White, Tidal Bay, Rosé and Fauna at Lightfoot & Wolfville

Domaine de Grand Pré Winery

Just down the street from Lightfoot & Wolfville is Grand Pré winery. This is another family owned and operated winery first starting in 1994.

Grand Pré has blends of whites, reds, sparkling and dessert and have won awards for many of their wines.

Domaine de Grand Pré Winery

We didn’t eat at this stop as we had just eaten. But we enjoyed their store (they sell so many fun, local things – we bought hot sauce and bacon jam!) and Greg, my cousin and I all tried a different flight of their wines.

This stop was my favourite for the look of the flights. They took our order, sat us outside under a tent and brought out these great big metal flight holders with the type of flight we ordered.

Flights at Grand Pré 

I ordered their “Signature Flight” – which included their L’acadie blanc, their Tidal Bay white, their Rosé, their signature 20th anniversary red wine and their dessert liquor the “Pomme d’Or Apple Liquor” which is not a wine, but absolutely amazing and takes like apple pie.

(Left to Right) L’acadie blanc, Tidal Bay, Rosé, 20th Anniversary Red, Pomme d’Or liquor

Kelsey (my cousin) got their signature white wine flight, and Greg is more of a red wine drinker and went for a red wine flight this time. Make sure to check out our YouTube video at the end of the post for more fun with “Wine Lessons with Greg” – you may not want to take his advice, but he’s fun to watch! Greg’s included the Marquette, the Millot, the 20th Anniversary Red, the Tribute and the Castello.

(From left to Right) The Marquette, the Millot, the 20th Anniversary Red, the Tribute and the Castello at Grand Pré 

Their flights were so much fun, and they had a lovely atmosphere. My mom was our designated driver for the day and they brought her out a “Chateau Riveriere” a.k.a water! But it was sweet of them to make it fun!

Luckett Vineyard

Luckett Vineyard is definitely a busy one! When you think of Luckett’s you immediately picture the red phone booth in the middle of the vineyard. The phone booth is a great photo opt and prior to COVID you were able to call anyone in the world from the phone booth! We were planning on calling Greg’s family in Ohio, but it had been roped off this year off course for safety reasons. Still a fun photo opt though!

Red phone booth in the middle of the Vineyard at Luckett Vineyard

It was later in the afternoon when we stopped at Luckett’s so we decided to get some appetizers to eat, and just a glass of wine this time instead of a flight (we’ve had Luckett’s wine on prior occasions and already know that it’s great!)

I ordered the “Call” which is a white wine, and Greg ordered their popular “Phone Box Red”, Kelsey chose the Tidal Bay at Luckett’s (each location has their own Tidal Bay and she was testing them all!)

Greg has the “Phone Box Red” and I have “The Call” white wine at Luckett’s

For our appetizers, we ordered the Hand cut French fries with Truffle aoili and the spinach and white bean dip. The Hand cut French fries were the BEST French fries I think that I have ever had. The portion was huge, so it was plenty for the four of us to snack on, and the truffle aioli was incredible. The fries only cost $7 which was a great price for the taste and the amount of fries you received. The dip was great too, but it really got overshadowed by these french fries!

Hand cut French fries with truffle aioli (left) white bean spinach dip (right)

The wine and food was lovely, and it’s always great to stop at this beautiful vineyard for your phone booth selfie in the vineyard!

Benjamin Bridge Winery

Our last stop was Benjamin Bridge winery. This was such a gorgeous location (especially with all of the beautiful fall leaves), but the entire property felt like a California vineyard. It was stunning! This was my first time to Benjamin Bridge, but I was no stranger to their delicious bubbly “NOVA 7” wine, which is one of my favourite bubbly wines.

In the middle of their vineyard, they had a big vending machine where you could get a can of their pet nat wine. First time I’ve ever seen a vending machine in a vineyard, but who doesn’t want to see a vending machine full of WINE?!

At Benjamin Bridge I obviously had to get a flight, I love their Nova 7 but I was so excited to try their other blends, and was certainly not disappointed in any of them. I ordered their “Classic Flight” which came with three of their blends. Their “NV Brut”, their “Tidal Bay and of course their famous “Nova 7”!

(Left to Right) NV Brut, Tidal Bay, Nova 7 at Benjamin Bridge

At this point, poor Greg had needed a break from wine, so he ended up ordering a beer here. Their beer at the vineyard was made using their grapes but they gave it to North Brewing Company (a Nova Scotia brewery) to make into a beer. It didn’t have a name, but she said they usually do this in the winter and this is the last of last year’s brew. She said to be on the look out for next year’s collaboration. Greg was obsessed with this beer and so sad that he couldn’t get this in the local liquor stores. If you ever see a North Brewing and Benjamin Bridge collaboration beer – make SURE to get it! It was fantastic and is a limited quantity!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Benjamin Bridge. It really is a beautiful property, and their wines never disappoint. They came around and offered us each a bag of complimentary Covered Bridge potato chips (a local favourite!) to go with our drinks. We had a lovely time here, and it was the perfect time of year to visit.

Conclusion

Any winery in Annapolis Valley is sure to be a great experience. We had such an amazing time at each location we went to, and they all had something unique about them to make you want to go back. Lightfoot & Wolfville has their incredible pizza, Grand Pré has their fun flights, Luckett’s I could go again and again for those French fries but ALSO of course their super fun phone booth in the middle of the vineyard, and Benjamin Bridge for an incredible atmosphere, a wine vending machine and their great wines (and beer as per Greg!)

Make sure to visit the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia and check out these incredible spots.

Check out our YouTube Channel!

To see more of this stunning vineyards in the Annapolis Valley, and more fun with Greg’s wine tasting “lessons”, check out our YouTube video below!

Let us know in the comments below where you think we should visit next in the Atlantic Bubble!