Aussie Wines with Bill Hardy and 5 Reasons Why Wolfville is Great

Last weekend, I was invited to a very special event in Nova Scotia featuring Bill Hardy, some great Australian wines, and a surprise dinner location and chef. I made the 3 and 3/4 hour trek in the BRUBUG to Halifax and headed down to Cut (one of Halifax's best restaurants) for an afternoon instructional tasting of Australian wines.

The tasting was hosted by Mark DeWolf of By The Glass, with one of the best-known characters in the Australian wine industry, Bill Hardy, as a special guest. I thought it was very honourable for Mr. Hardy to speak fondly and knowledgably about not only his company’s wines, but also the good examples we were trying from his competitors.

Mark and Bill guided a group of mostly local restaurant folks (with a few sommelier hangers-on) through a sampling of varied wines, from a fresh Bay of Fires Tasmanian Cuvée MV ("Multiple vintage," Hardy joked,) all the way to some serious, well-structured reds, including a Tintara Cabernet Sauvignon.

My favourite whites were the very complex, 11% alcohol Tyrrell's Hunter 2002 Semillon – nutty, creamy, honeyed, waxy, mineral nose, with tart citrus on the palate – and the famous Eileen Hardy 2006 Chardonnay. The chardonnay had lots of spicy French oak, and was quite full, but had good structure from the tart citrus/green apple acidity. It was looooong.

Of the reds, my faves were the Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir - very old school, with funky barnyard and earthy notes alongside perfumed floral and cherry aromas - and the Tintara Cabernet. A 2006 vintage, I believe, which had loads of ripe fruit but was supported by a smooth mid-palate and a Bordeaux-like, dry finish. Excellent wine!

I would have more details on the wines, but, well, my notes are missing. That's another story.

After the tasting, I had some time to watch the end of the USA-Ghana World Cup match at the World Cup tent at Niche, a bar on Barrington at Spring Garden, before heading back to the bus for our trip to a mystery dinner location. It turns out the surprise was a backyard BBQ in the apple orchard behind Chef Craig Flynn's parents home in Port Williams, in the Valley.

Craig Flynn, the celebrated Chef at Chives in Halifax, was chosen because of his dedication to the local food movement. The outdoor dinner paired Aussie wines with local Nova Scotian cuisine; local seafood was served, as well as a duck risotto and local lamb slow-roasted over coals.

White wines at the dinner included an aged version of one of my favourite value Aussie whites, the Houghton Classic (formerly White Burgundy), a blend that is heavy in Chenin (but no Chardonnay!), and an Eileen Hardy 2004 Chardonnay, an elegant white with integrated French oak and a green apple/citrus structure.

The reds were flying fast and furious, with a pair of Tintara Shiraz to finish - including the delectable 2004 Single Vineyard Upper Tintara from McLaren Vale, which went very nicely with the lamb. All in all, the dinner was a fantastic Nova Scotia/Australia experience, and a great chance to chat with a true Aussie gentleman who also knows how to have a good time.

Mike Laceby, a sommelier and Innkeeper at the historic Blomidon Inn, invited us all to pop by for some well-aged Eileen Hardy Shiraz and Chardonnay. I went along with him and Chronicle Herald wine writer Sean Wood, but apparently wires were crossed and the bus went home with my wine notes to Halifax, stranding me in Wolfville. Laceby was gracious enough to offer me an excellent "emergency" room rate and I didn't mind, as the alternative was my brother's sofa in Halifax.

If you are going to be stranded somewhere, and you love wine, beer, food and gorgeous scenery and weather, there are not many better places in Canada than Wolfville.

5 Reasons Why Wolfville is a Great Town in Which to be Stranded

1. The Blomidon Inn: An iconic, historic property in the Annapolis Valley with a fantastic wine list (with some crazy old wines) and dependable food, not to mention gracious hosts! I slept well and had a nice continental breakfast.

2. Paddy's Brewpub: I walked down to Paddy's just in time to catch the England vs. Germany soccer game. Although that didn't go down so well, the beer sure did. I had their hoppy AVA (Annapolis Valley Ale) and Raven Ale and a bowl of soup to tide me over until lunch.

3. Domaine de Grand Pré winery & Le Caveau: My brother and his significant other were keen on lunch in the Valley, so we went for a decadent lunch at Le Caveau, at their splendid pergola in the vineyards of Domaine de Grand Pré. I had an excellent house smoked salmon salad and pot stickers, a glass of L'Acadie Blanc and the Reserve, oaked version to compare and then tried their new Traditional Method sparklers for the first time, Champlain (Brut) and Ice Cuvée (demi-sec). A good job by winemaker Jürg Stutz!

4. More Great Local Wine: Gaspereau winemaker Gina Haverstock met us at Le Caveau for a chat and delivered wines from her winery as well as from Benjamin Bridge and Blomidon Estate.

5. The Port Pub and Sea Level Brewery: Before heading back to Halifax, we popped by the Port Pub in Port Williams for a quick half pint of Moondance Lager. This pub is one of the best places to eat in the region, with excellent locally focused pub food and beer from the Sea Level microbrewery. It also has one of the most beautiful views of any pub in Canada, over the Cornwallis River across to Wolfville.

Cheers!

Craig Pinhey is a writer and Sommelier, available for private tastings. Visit him at www.frogspad.ca and follow him on twitter (@frogspadca)