The Riesling Princess

It's all about the wine, Gina will tell you. But last week, it seemed like everyone was making it all about Gina, to her somewhat dismayed embarrassment. Gina Haverstock is the new winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards, just over South Mountain (yes, I know it is barely a hill) from Wolfville. I can tell you, you will simply not find a nicer person on the planet. Period. No matter how nice you think you are, Gina is nicer.

Gina is the first person in Nova Scotia to become a winemaker, a professional in wine, "from scratch". She discovered wine while working at Jost Vineyards in the tasting room and gift shop one summer (her family cottage was close by) and got hooked. The biochemistry degree that had been intended to be the base for a medical career ended up being used in a much more productive manner!

The work to become a winemaker is not a short and easy road to follow. Gina first took her interest in the hospitality side of things, studying under Adam Dial to complete the full International Sommelier Guild Program in Halifax. Here she learned all about the world of wine, and how to taste wine, match it with food, and consider its faults and qualities. The Sommelier course is also a huge lesson in geography, as familiarity with terroir around the world is part of the lessons to be learned.

Gina then took the big step of enrolling at Brock University's Cool Climate Oenology and Viticultural Institute (CCOVI, pronounced cuh-vee) to become a winemaker. Years later she emerged, degree in hand, and with work experience from around the world.

She says it was on her term in Germany that her love of the Queen of Grapes, Riesling, began. She has worked in vineyards, farming and winemaking in Germany, Austria and New Zealand.

This past year, she returned to Nova Scotia to be come the winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards, Jost's Annapolis Valley operation.

And guess what awaited her? Some Nova Scotia grown Riesling, planted high up on the hill in the vineyard behind the winery.

Last week, the winery held an Introduction to Riesling event, with invited guests and paying customers. At this event, they launched Gina's first Riesling in Nova Scotia. This wine is, in my opinion, the best white wine ever made in Nova Scotia (not counting icewines) and, if we take the stance of an outsider looking into our industry from afar, arguably the best wine ever made in Nova Scotia (again, we'd better not count Icewine, because ours is already maybe the best in the world).

The wine is bright, pale straw in colour, with a tickling of acidity on initial taste, with lemon-lime and maybe a trace of mandarin citrus. There is a some petrol in the nose, offering an initial hint of its identity. The middle is full, and almost semi sweet, but the wine, like a good Mosel style, finishes with great, lip smacking acidity and fresh fruit.

Now, you probably won't be able to buy any for a while, but look for it when it does come out.

In the meantime, Gina's first Seyval for Gaspereau is also out, and it is a stunning example of how good this grape can be. Crisp lean acidity make it an ideal food wine, and a good candidate for a house white with our local seafood inspired cuisine.

Gina has led the way in yet another manner, as one more of the local wine community is now at Brock. Alison Moyes, who having finished her Sommelier Program a few years ago, was at Seven Wine Bar as Sommelier and Manager, is currently at 13th Street Winery on her work term, about 1/3 of her way through the same program from which Gina graduated.

So remember, when you taste Gina's wines, raise a glass to the Riesling Princess, the gal who came back home and is helping to further advance the wine industry in Nova Scotia.