Running from January 30-February 1, Uncorked Tours will offer an all-inclusive, 3-day, 2-night tour to the Annapolis Valley with pick-ups in Saint John and Moncton.

Your tour includes:
Round trip transportation
2 nights accommodations
Icewine festival entrance fee
Wine and cheese reception at Planter's Ridge Winery
Private wine tasting at Benjamin Bridge Winery
Private wine tasting at 2 other wineries
Dinner with wine at Le Caveau, Grand Pré's on-site restaurant
Beer tasting dinner at Port Pub

You'll have plenty of time to sip and sample while enjoying a relaxing weekend in wine country. You'll have free time as well to visit additional wineries or breweries, do some shopping, or just relax with a glass of wine by the fire. 

Tour price is $799/person +HST based on double occupancy. Reservation deadline is January 9, 2015. $400 deposit due at booking, final payment due January 16.

More info

Sunday had a lazy start to the day but we did make it to Domaine de Grand Pré by the time they opened at 11am. We tried several wines and Adam and I both really enjoyed the Foch and the Tidal Bay. Grand Pré has a beautiful winery store set up and will play host to the 2015 Icewine Festival.

Our tummies were growling so the next stop was Paddy's Pub to try some beer and get some good eats. Paddy's offers flights of 6 beer, and the glass size is more than generous. The food was great, the service was friendly, and the beer was delicious, especially the brown. Paddy's serves breakfast until late on Sunday, and we had a great time watching the Acadia students stroll in post-Saturday-night-out.

Next came a trip to Canning and Blomidon Winery. It's  only about 15 minutes from Wolfville and definitely worth the scenic drive along the salt flats and coastline. Gordon, the winery store manager, was waiting for us when we arrived. This was my first trip to this winery and I was hugely impressed. They've just renovated a new tasting room and winery store with huge windows that overlook the vineyard. 

We tried several wines including their Tidal Bay and Blow Me Down. Blomidon also makes a red sparkling wine called BMD that is very unique and fun to serve. It was a beautiful day out and the winery was busier than expected. We decided to take a stroll through the vineyards that had just been harvested. Upon returning, we had the pleasure of meeting winemaker, Simon Rafuse. His passion for the winery shines through.

We got back to the Hotel and cracked open a bottle of Blomidon's Crémant sparkling wine to enjoy with some of the Newfoundland chocolates we received upon check-in. Dinner at the Blomidon Inn was delicious and it is rated one of the top restaurants in the area. We ordered a bottle of Planter's Ridge to accompany the meal, and happily took the remaining wine and dessert up to our room to indulge in some guilty tv watching (I don't have cable at home in Saint John). What a great end to an awesome day!

Last weekend Adam and I set off on our own wine adventure to Nova Scotia. It was a blast! We made a four-day loop that included visits to 7 wineries, 3 breweries and an herb garden like none I've seen before. There was beautiful coastal scenery, the rolling hills of NS's bread basket, and a ferry crossing into the sunset.

The purpose of the trip was twofold; first, to get away together for a few days, and second, the finalize the itinerary for the Icewine Festival Tour being offered Jan 30-Feb 1, 2015. More on that in another post.

We set off on Saturday morning with plans to arrive at Jost for lunch. This was my first time visiting the winery in Malagash, NS. They recently underwent a huge renovation of their tasting room and winery store and it is beautiful! Lunch was a delicious soup but lasagne was also available. After tasting a few wines and eating a delicious lunch, we were off to our next stop.

Tatamagouche Brewing Company is located in Tatamagouche, NB. They had a couple beer on tap and we ended up tasting both and buy a growler to add to the collection. The store and tasting area is open to the brewery below which is pretty cool and all the beer they make is organic. 

We made the 2 hour drive from Tatamagouche to Windsor before the sun set and arrived at Avondale Sky Winery just as it was getting dark. The winery is a church that was moved to its current location. The tasting area is beautiful with all the original wood intact. We enjoyed a lovely tasting, finding a couple new NS favourites in the mix.

Upon arriving in Wolfville we checked into the Blomidon Inn on Main St, just outside the downtown core. The property used to belong to a shipbuilder before being converted to an Inn. Our view was of the mouth of the Cornwallis River, a tidal river, where it meets the Minas Basin. 

Dinner Saturday night was at Le Caveau, the restaurant located at Domaine de Grand Pré Winery. It was delicious. All the food was locally sourced. Appetizers included scallops, venison, and duck fat fried fries. Main courses included partridge, arctic char, boar and beef tenderloin. Dessert was delicious, we actually chose the cheese plate, but the dark chocolate cheesecake and the crème caramel also called to me.

To be continued...

Cheers,
Gilliane

Uncorked Tours had a great time at the Moncton Wine Expo last weekend. There were over 350 wines to sample along with pairing lunches and dinners all week long. The Expo itself is a great event and a "must" for anyone interested in wine. We had fun sampling wine, handing out drop stops and introducing guests to NB wineries.

A huge thank you goes out to everyone who took time out of their sampling to visit us, and congratulations to Kathryn Forgie, Sue Cairns, and Daneck Long-Ouellette! The three of you have won an Uncorked Tours prize pack consisting of: a bottle of Gillis of Belleisle's Cranberry Ceilidh, 2 wine glasses, drop stops, and a $50 gift certificate for Uncorked Tours.

If you missed the show this year, don't fret. You can join in on the fun next year with Uncorked Tours. The Wine Expo tour will be offered again on Saturday, November 7, 2015.

Cheers,
Gilliane

Moncton's Magnetic Hill Winery is launching a brand new line of sparkling wines. The name comes from the City of Moncton's unofficial motto - Resurgo - meaning to rise again. Magnetic Hill Winery has a knack for naming their wines using names like Illusions (for the magnetic hill illusion), Mascaret (the Tidal Bore), Bay of Fundy and now Resurgo.

These sparkling wines are a festive change to the fruit wines Magnetic Hill Winery has become popular for. The wines are currently available at the winery and may make their way into the markets and grocery store carrying Magnetic Hill products. The winery has provided the following tasting notes:

RESURGO:
Refreshing dry sparkling wine, made from rhubarb, with its hint of citrus makes it an excellent pairing with seafood. Best served chilled and kept on ice.
RESURGO ROSE:
Fruity off dry sparkling wine, has the perfect blend of blueberries, strawberries and rhubarb to create this excellent aperitif. Best served chilled and kept on ice.
RESURGO ROUGE:
Well balanced off dry cranberry sparkling wine pairs excellent with the festive chicken, turkey, pork meals or as an aperitif. Best served chilled and kept on ice.