Robert Bell's
Wines of Canada
Since 1992
Featured Winemaker
Bruce Ewert
Born and raised in Prince George, British Columbia. Bruce Ewert grew up to be one of Canada's best winemakers. He is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with A degree in Bio-Resource (Agriculture) Engineering .
His resume is outstanding. Bruce had the pleasure to make wine for over 30 years in managerial and hands-on roles at a variety of small and large wineries in British Columbia, Ontario, California, Australia and now Nova Scotia. His first stop was Andrés Wines in Port Moody, BC. I"’ve been head winemaker at iconic British Columbia wineries such as Summerhill Pyramid Winery, See Ya Later Ranch and Peller Estates responsible for +200,000 cases." He also studied at the famed University of California Davis to establish his winemaking Career.
"I’m intrigued (and inspired) by winemakers who really do ‘push the envelope.’ And Bruce Ewert is one of those winemakers:" -Tim Pawsley -Hired Belly
Today Bruce along with his wife Pauline Scott ( a Native Nova Scotian) owns L’Acadie Vineyards in Nova Scotia. Bruce Ewert released Nova Scotia’s first Champagne-method sparkling wine back in 2008. " I’m proud to have pioneered sparkling wine and organic winemaking for our region and I enjoy sharing my passion with winery visitors, the wine trade and through teaching winemaking courses at great campuses across Canada, including Nova Scotia Community College." "Nova Scotia’s cool climate is ideal and enviable for traditional method sparkling wine, and international awards and recognition have validated our decisions to champion this style with a desire for strong industry wine standards to protect it."
Why Nova Scotia? Being married to a girl from Nova Scotia, Bruce often visited the province. He offered Nova Scotia offered affordable land along with the perfect soil conditions . Bruce knew l’Acadie Blanc was “the right grape for the right site.” . It’s a Canadian, cold-hardy hybrid of Seibel and Villard which is now widely planted in Nova Scotia. And he knew that the ancient seabed of the Gaspereau Valley—defined by schist and sandstone—was the perfect site.
As well as managing his own winery Bruce consults with other Nova Scotia winery on their sparking wine production.
Above all Bruce is a Family man.
- L'Acadie Vineyards 310 Slayter Rd, Gaspereau, NS B4P 2R1
L’Acadie Vineyards is a certified organic winery distinguished for releasing the region’s first internationally awarded traditional method sparkling wines. Their organic wines reflect the unique ancient seabed terroir of their estate on the valley slopes in Gaspereau.
L’Acadie Vineyards produced Nova Scotia’s first certified organic wines, which means not only are the grapes grown organically but also that the winery itself and its processes are tested and certified. Organic was important to Ewert because he believes that organic production means better quality wines. “The terroir, because it is more living, is more vivid and more expressed, so we have a very mineral rich terroir on our estate,” he says. “Those mineral flavours and salinity that comes from being on the Bay of Fundy are more pronounced because it’s a living soil. The bottle ferment and the ageing of those bottles for up to 10 years is a lot cleaner and more clear because we don’t have those residual pesticides in the wine.”
"Bruce Ewert released Nova Scotia’s first Champagne-method sparkling wine back in 2008. The local industry owes much to his foresight"- Beppi Crosariol, Globe and Mail
L'Acadie Vineyards Prestige Brut EstateOne of the very best!
Just a few awards
Effervescents du Monde, France – twice silver medals for 2007 and 2010 Prestige Brut
Decanter World Wine Awards, London – silver, 92 points for 2013 Prestige Brut
Canadian Wine Awards – gold, top sparkling for 2007 Prestige Brut“French champagne has traditionally been the benchmark for sparkling wines, but Nova Scotia is carving out a niche for itself through the efforts of traditional-method, bottle-fermented sparkling wine pioneers such as Bruce Ewert of L’Acadie Vineyards in the Gaspereau Valley.” – Bruce Erskine, Chronicle Herald
Bruce makes other wines besides sparking. He makes what he calls "dry still wines"
Petellant Natural - L'Acadie Blanc from estate schist soils
Orange Wine -Skin fermented estate L'Acadie Blanc, wild ferment
Estate L'Acadie - Dry, high minerality from our Estate's schist dominant soil
Passito -Appassimento techniques. Ripasso-style
Alchemy - 100% appassimento library wine. Aged two years in barrel and eight years in bottle.
Duncanson Brook Cider -Traditional method sparkling ciderOther featured pages:
~ Featured Winemakers
~ Featured Wine
~ Featured Winery
~ Women of Wine
~ Robert's Selections
