Seyval Blanc
We've decided to travel today to another unusual wine region to drink Seyval Blanc.Nova Scotia, despite its seeming remoteness, is the second most densely populated of Canada's provinces. Located to the east of the US state of Maine, we would not expect it to be much of a grape growing region and, in fact, it's not. But located on the edge of Minas Basin at the east end of the Bay of Fundy, we're fortunate enough to find most of the 400 hectares of wine grapes growing in Nova Scotia.
Here, we find bay breezes mixed with cool temperatures. In the summer, temperatures above 25C/77F are unusual while in winter, daytime highs often don't reach the freezing point of water. Most wine grapes won't grow there, but Seyval Blanc, a hybrid of a vitis vinifera grape and some other non-vinifera grape will.
Curiously, because it's not entirely vinifera, it is outlawed as a wine grape in the European Union and in most of the non-EU European countries as well. In North America, we have no such restrictive laws and Seyval Blanc happens to grow well in the cool and often cold breezes of northern Nova Scotia.
How Seyval Blanc is produced may vary from year to year. In nicer weather, growing years, it may produce a dry white wine somewhat reminiscent of a poor man's chablis on the palate. Frequently oaked and having gone through malolactic fermentation, the natural minerality of the Nova Scotian soil still comes through. At the other end of the spectrum, in years with somewhat nastier weather, the Seyval Blanc will botrytize early and produce a sweet, yet still naturally minerally dessert wine. And, in some cases, it is left on the vine until the grapes have just frozen to produce an eiswein (ice wine for those who prefer the anglicized version).
In all cases, the most predominant flavor notes are citrus, more lemony in the best Seyval Blanc. In the more pedestrian efforts at the wine, the citrus may seem more jumbled and less balanced and we may be overwhelmed by rampant acidity. Serve those fridge cold or colder to calm them down.
Drink dry Seyval Blanc with local, somewhat fatty fish such as salmon or pickerel. In the case of the sweeter versions, enjoy with citrusy desserts including key lime or lemon meringue pies.
Here, we find bay breezes mixed with cool temperatures. In the summer, temperatures above 25C/77F are unusual while in winter, daytime highs often don't reach the freezing point of water. Most wine grapes won't grow there, but Seyval Blanc, a hybrid of a vitis vinifera grape and some other non-vinifera grape will.
Curiously, because it's not entirely vinifera, it is outlawed as a wine grape in the European Union and in most of the non-EU European countries as well. In North America, we have no such restrictive laws and Seyval Blanc happens to grow well in the cool and often cold breezes of northern Nova Scotia.
How Seyval Blanc is produced may vary from year to year. In nicer weather, growing years, it may produce a dry white wine somewhat reminiscent of a poor man's chablis on the palate. Frequently oaked and having gone through malolactic fermentation, the natural minerality of the Nova Scotian soil still comes through. At the other end of the spectrum, in years with somewhat nastier weather, the Seyval Blanc will botrytize early and produce a sweet, yet still naturally minerally dessert wine. And, in some cases, it is left on the vine until the grapes have just frozen to produce an eiswein (ice wine for those who prefer the anglicized version).
In all cases, the most predominant flavor notes are citrus, more lemony in the best Seyval Blanc. In the more pedestrian efforts at the wine, the citrus may seem more jumbled and less balanced and we may be overwhelmed by rampant acidity. Serve those fridge cold or colder to calm them down.
Drink dry Seyval Blanc with local, somewhat fatty fish such as salmon or pickerel. In the case of the sweeter versions, enjoy with citrusy desserts including key lime or lemon meringue pies.
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