Story and photography by Darcy Rhyno

A plate with a mincemeat tart and a slice of Christmas pudding with rum sauce and homemade vanilla ice cream is set before me, the last course of five here at the Blomidon Inn in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. I’m not sure I can do it, that is, until I’m poured a glass of Martock Late Harvest dessert wine from nearby Avondale Sky Winery. The notes of peach and apricot over the intense tropical fruit sweetness nicely balance the more savoury flavours in the tart and pudding.

Nova Scotia wines stack up against the best in the world. The meal opened with another local star, sparkling Benjamin Bridge Brut that cut the fattiness of the bone marrow served with Valley Pear Sourdough bread. Following this treat, I enjoyed the seared duck paired with a BC Pinot Noir, local Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio with Brussels sprouts kimchi, followed by strip loin with parsnip and braised red cabbage; both courses paired with Italian wines.

Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley is so defined by food, it’s home to a film festival dedicated to it. Devour: The Food Film Fest is an annual six-day fall event that attracts up to 13,000 attendees and notable names in cuisine like Anthony Bourdain of the popular CNN show Parts Unknown and Sam Kass, the White House chef who fed the Obama family. Films, food trucks, foraging excursions, chef demonstrations, winery tours and great dining experiences like this one at the Blomidon Inn make this a film festival like no other.

 

Atlantic Canada’s bread basket

Inside the Visitor Centre at nearby Grand Pré National Historic Site just outside Wolfville, a worn piece of wood holds the secret to the dawn of farming in the Annapolis Valley. It’s a piece of pine from a tree that was 274 years old when it was cut down in 1686 to build an aboiteau or wooden sluiceway. The French speaking Acadians who settled here among the indigenous Mi’kmaq people brought their dyke technology with them when they crossed the Atlantic. They installed these sluiceways beneath the dykes to drain the shallow salt marshes so they could plant crops. The land is still farmed today, and the reclaimed Grand Pré marshland and surrounding communities—some 1300 hectares in all—is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

When entering the valley from Halifax, it’s this farmland, Cape Blomidon’s distant red cliffs, the Bay of Fundy and its sculpted muddy shores that first come into view. In contrast, travelers enter the Annapolis Valley from the western end, by crossing the Fundy on The CAT ferry to Yarmouth or the MV Fundy Rose to Digby. The 150-kilometre fertile valley is nestled between two mountain ranges so ancient, they’re worn nearly flat. It’s a stretch of land that competes with the entire province of PEI as the East Coast’s bread basket, wine region and culinary centre.

These rich soils and the microclimate created by those ancient mountain ridges and the warm waters of the bay make for an agriculture-friendly landscape that has attracted and sustained generations of small scale farmers. Weekend community farmers markets like those in Wolfville, Kentville and Annapolis Royal, as well as dozens of family-run farm markets and roadside stands are the best places to see and taste the bounty. Dempsey Corner Orchards, U-Pick and Farm Market near Aylesford is a favourite because of the sheer variety of fruits and vegetables, the great hands-on activities and their sense of humour. They invite visitors to take part in everything from bottle feeding baby goats to playing a round of apple golf. 

Community and private farm markets supply many shoppers with everything they need for the kitchen. Vegetables harvested the day before, honey from the bees that pollinate valley crops, specialty meats and cheeses prepared from the region’s grazers, wines with distinctive local terroir and a world of ready-to-eat goodies—Indian samosas, German schnitzel, Mexican salsa, Japanese sushi and traditional Syrian dishes all made using local ingredients—make for eclectic, satisfying shopping and eating.

 

Star producers

Many of the star local producers have become fixtures in the Annapolis Valley and beyond. From their farm and shop in Port Williams, Fox Hill Cheese House has expanded to sell in Halifax and elsewhere across the province. Their cheese, yogurt and gelato are popular, but they’re known for being the only supplier in Atlantic Canada of pasteurized, non-homogenized milk in glass bottles.

Further west near Berwick, the Meadowbrook Meat Market is well known for its pork products made from livestock it raises on site. Nearly all of the hundreds of items sold at their farm market are either made at the farm or by other Nova Scotia producers. Meadowbrook has also expanded into Halifax and sells its products through other retailers across the province.

Over the past few decades, the Annapolis Valley has become a wine destination. Vintners have discovered that growing conditions in the valley are ideal for certain varieties. One of them, L’Acadie Blanc, is named for the region and is a key ingredient in Nova Scotia’s only wine appellation, Tidal Bay. This crisp, aromatic white pairs perfectly with the region’s famous seafood.

Beers with locally grown hops and ciders made from famous Annapolis Valley apples are helping build Nova Scotia’s reputation as a producer of quality beverages. Wine tastings, stylish shops and on-site gourmet dining—whether it’s under a tent at Luckett’s Vineyard or in a quiet corner of the garden at Domaine de Grand Pré—enrich every winery visit.

Back at the Devour festival, nothing remains of dessert but a few crumbs on my plate, and I’ve drained the last drop of the dessert wine. I’m suddenly sleepy and grateful to call the Blomidon Inn home tonight. All I have to do is climb the stairs in this stately Victorian inn after this superb gastronomic experience and look forward to tomorrow’s food films and culinary fun.   

 

 

SIDEBAR

 

A picnic basket of Annapolis Valley products.

 

1. Porkstrami from Meadowbrook Meats.

 

2. Fruit blossom and wildflower honey from Cosman and Whidden.

 

3. Squeaky cheese curds or chocolate milk in a glass bottle from Fox Hill Cheese House.

 

4. Surf and Turf Scotch Ale made with seaweed from Meander River Farm and Brewery.

 

5. Ancienne Chardonnay certified organic wine from Lightfoot and Wolfville.

 

6. Cox Orange Pippin citrusy apples or Noggins Cider from Noggins Corner Farm Market.

 

7. A box of U-pick peaches from Dempsey Corner orchard.

 

8. Fresh Nova Scotia scallops from The Fish Store at the Wolfville Market.

 

9. Sweet corn from Evans Family Farm Market Corn Maze near Wilmot.

 

10. Asparagus, strawberries, melons and greens from Vermeulen Farms in Canning.

 

 

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Intro caption: Meadowbrook Farm sausages.