Sip and Shuck

Sip & Shuck / Wine & Shellfish
January 29, 9:29 PMNova Scotia Wine ExaminerVeronica LeonardPrevious Next Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe Subscribe


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Wine and seafood in abundence at Sip & Shuck Halifax NS
Colin Leonard photographer
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View all » I'm not sure if it's a coincidence that the annual event celebrating Nova Scotia Wine and Nova Scotia Aquaculture was held in Halifax the same weekend as the Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex Expo. Considering the traditional pairing of Wine, Oysters and Sex, it may have been intentional.

In any case, the desk clerk at the Delta Halifax looked more confused than shocked when I mistakenly asked her where the Sip and Suck event was going on.

Despite the difficult name, Sip and Shuck was a great event. Almost all of the Nova Scotia Wineries were represented giving samples of their signature wines. Meanwhile, the chefs at the Delta Halifax were making a feast of mussels, oysters, scallops, baby clams, smoked salmon and Arctic char raised in NS aquaculture farms. Although it had been snowing with strong winds all day, many of the leaders of both the wine, aquaculture, and hospitality industries were there as well as media locusts like myself who sampled everything twice in the name of research.

First in the glass, was L'Acadie Winery's Brut, paired with Sweet Spot Chocolate from Elmsdale.

An added bonus was the presence of the ballot box for the Win a NS Scotia Wine Cellar draw that will be held over the next few weeks during the Nova Scotia Icewine Festival Feb 4 -14.

Among the local celebrities, was Pete Luckett who told me he will opening his new winery next year called Luckett Wines. He launched his Leon Millot last summer, a joint venture with Domaine de Grand Pré. I met the new owner of a yet unnamed winery in Avondale and her winemaker who assures me they plan to make “fantastic wines.”

I had a chance to sample Bear River’s Greater Yellow Legs Chardonnay, and Sainte Famille, 2007 Quartet, a wonderful blend of L’Acadie, Seyval, Ortega and Muscat. Both delightful whites that paired well with all the seafood I was taste testing and new wines for me..Also new for me, were the Lunenburg Winery fruit wines kiwi and pear – light, subtly flavoured and a delight to the palette.

I met the wine maker from Benjamin Bridge and tried their Taurus Marechal Foch,a favourite with Foch enthusiasts. I was impressed with the BB Nexus as well, a slightly dry rosé with mild fizz. Gaspereau is still my favourite rosé but unfortunately they weren’t sampling that tonight. Jost were doing sampling of their Seyval, Muscat and L’Acadie all of which pair well with seafood. Simon Rafuse the wine maker at Blomidon was dolling out their L’Acadie 2008, an excellent vintage which had been left to sit on its lees for 24 hours and is far more flavourful than the 2007

Hanspeter Stutz from Grand Pré was serving up L’Acadie Reserve, a mildly oaked l'Acadie blanc that has an interesting warm fuzzy taste to augment its normally mild citrus notes. As there were buckets of mussels next to his stand, I was back to chat several times. Three years ago Hanspeter had talked to me about the need for the wine industry to network more with the other food and hospitality industries in Nova Scotia. Obviously, people have been listening. Around the corner at the stall where they were preparing oyster shooters, I lined up with.Chef Michael Howell of the Tempest World Cuisine Restaurant in Wolfeville. Michael tells me that next to the Five Fishermen in Halifax, the Tempest carries the widest selection of Nova Scotia wines in the province.

Sip and Shuck – remember the name – it’s an annual event and well worth attending.