Wine research centralized in Nova Scotia

By Chris McGregor

WOLFVILLE—After seeing what the teaching winery and viticulture program Niagara College and Brock University have done for the Ontario wine industry, Nova Scotia how has its own similar research institute.

The partnership between Acadia University in Wolfville and the Winery Association of Nova Scotia is funded with $175,000 to assist with scientific and market research to build upon the 15 wineries currently operating in the province.

“There are a lot of little projects going around and going on but it really needs to have a central focus and a central management of all these projects,” said Janice Ruddock, executive director of the Winery Association of Nova Scotia.

The Atlantic Wine Institute is a three-year pilot project headed up by Dr. Donna Sears, who has completed extensive research on the province’s wine industry and delivered her results at conferences both in Canada and internationally.

While the institute is housed at Acadia, a number of other educational institutions are involved—Nova Scotia Community College, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, St. Mary’s University, Holland College, College communautaire de Nouvelle-Brunswick and the Grape Growers Association of Nova Scotia.

The province’s industry is unique and locally-focused solutions need to be found if the number of wineries and grape growers is to expand.

“They’re researching the different grapes, the pests (and) consumer buying behaviour, (which) is changing all the time right now in Nova Scotia,” Ruddock said.

“Because we’re not growing the same type of grapes as the rest of Canada—we’re growing unique French hybrids—we need to know how they’re reacting with the soil, and what kind of soil is the best for the grapes.”

Some of the factors being studied are the market for sparkling wine, price point, consumer purchasing decisions, pest management, soil composition and management, and the best grapes to grow in Nova Scotia’s climate.

“A person starting a winery will have all this information they can access and how to make educated decisions in their business, whether it be a marketing decision, whether it be a social buying decision on how a product is being sold, how to market the product, right up to what grape to plant,” said Ruddock.

A study of the province’s wine industry in 2006 found that Nova Scotia would have 20 wineries by 2020, but that is likely to be exceeded, as there are already 15 operators.

As a result, the Winery Association is redoing its study based on an ever-increasing demand and consumption of wine in Canada.

“People are drinking more wine and we are selling more wine. As we move forward, we always have to remember that the wine industry is rooted in the ground. It’s not going to be transported or moved to Mexico for cheap labour,” Ruddock said.  

It’s a marvelous industry for Nova Scotia to support and be a part of because of that—because it’s not going anyway.”