Bear River Vineyards And Winery

10/17/2024

Late season launch! We ran out of tank space in the cellar due to the size of our harvest this year, so we did some emergency bottling to make room for the new wines. As a result, we are back in stock on two of our most popular wines: Rose Eh? and Greater Yellowlegs.

Those who are loyal purchasers of these wines will note some subtle differences. There are a couple of varieties included in the blend that are not normally part of these wines. But the overall taste profile is in line with what you would expect from both - off dry, fruit forward, crisp & clean on the finish.

Supplies are limited, and so is the time to come get them. We are open this week but will close for the season after this weekend. If you don’t have time to come to the winery, please visit our online store. We will continue to ship wine until late November.

10/13/2024

The sun has set on another season here at Bear River Vineyards. Our shop will close at 4pm today, Sunday, October 13th. We will be open next weekend, Friday to Sunday, and then close until next spring. Feel free to call us to arrange a visit over the remainder of October and even into November if the weather is nice. We will be here working on the wines from a bountiful 2024 harvest!

Happy Thanksgiving!

10/11/2024

If you have visited us and taken the tour you may recall that one of the interesting features that links the history of the barn to the present is the 500 gallon Stainless Steel Mueller milk tank. That tank plays key role in making 2 of our most popular wines: Emboldened and Bearly Baco.

Emboldened is a field blend of Baco Noir and Marechal Foch. Those grapes are crushed upstairs and gravity fed into the milk tank below. Before starting the fermentation we bleed off about 20% of the free run juice from the tank and use that to make our “Bearly Baco” rose. As a result, the remaining juice in the tank is more concentrated on the skins and makes for a more full bodied red wine when the “Emboldened” completes fermentation in the milk tank.

This year, we almost over-flowed the tank with our largest crop we have had during our time here. Photo 1 is the Baco-Foch in the tank just before we did the bleed off of the juice. Photo 2 is the Bearly Baco fermenting - it’s always such a beautiful deep purple colour, and the smell is amazing!

We are just about done for the season here. More updates to come in a separate post.

10/05/2024

Yesterday, visitors to the winery enjoyed witnessing harvest season up close and personal! Our unique gravity fed process begins with the grapes being crushed in our tasting room, after which they flow down into the cellar for fermenting. Many photos and videos were taken and a few grapes were sampled. As one guest said… “we never expected to get to see all this!”

Many thanks to the largest harvest team we have ever assembled, who picked the largest crop of Baco Noir and Marechal Foch that we have ever brought in! We have only one more day of harvest remaining - date TBC.

10/01/2024

Always beautiful here in the mornings!

Just like the fog is hiding the beauty of the valley behind it, the serenity of the vineyard doesn’t give any hint of the buzz of activity that is actually happening as we are deep into harvest.

With the cellar full of fermenting wines
we aren’t able to offer tours of the facility as we normally would, but we are open and ready to welcome you for tastings and flights.

Come check out the action and soak in the ambience of a vineyard at harvest. The bird wailer we use to protect the grapes can even add a certain charm only experienced at this time of year!

Open 11am-6pm daily until Thanksgiving Weekend

09/27/2024

A well earned day off for our baskets - and our pickers! We have harvested about 1/3 of the vineyard. There will be more harvest days next week when the weather looks good again. If you had volunteered but haven’t been contacted yet, we might not have your number! Please reach out to the winery and leave us your contact information if you are interested in picking next week. Thanks for all who have helped so far!

09/23/2024

And, just like that, it’s fall… Time to start harvest! Stay tuned for more updates on exact timing for picking. We are keeping a close eye on the weather and conditions in the vineyard. In the meantime, the winery is open 11am-6pm daily for anyone who wants to come enjoy the view in person. The fall colours have started their annual show.

09/07/2024

I guess this was the calm before the storm last night. A beautiful sunset ahead of heavy rain over night and this morning. We are close to harvest, within the next 2 weeks on some varieties, so this needs to be the last big rain we get for awhile…

08/24/2024

It happens fast… I just posted a picture the other day of the grapes gradually turning colour and starting to ripen. Less than a week later, they are ripe enough that the birds are at them. Looks like harvest will be early this year. Likely before the end of September for some varieties.

08/19/2024

Veraison, when the grapes turn colour and the sugar levels begin to rise as they ripen. An exciting time of year in the vineyard! I would say we are at least a week ahead of an average year. It’s been a good growing season after a tough one last year. But we aren’t through it yet. We would like to see a warm, dry, September to complete the process.

08/18/2024

The Village Cauldron has established itself as a wonderful dining option for guests visiting Bear River. We are so please to be able to tell our guests that they now have meal options for their entire day in Bear River: Sissiboo Coffee Roaster for breakfast, Myrtle and Rosie’s for lunch, and the Village Cauldron for dinner! Jody’s Pizza stays open late on weekends to expand the options even later into the day. No need to send people to other towns for food. An important part of being a welcoming tourist destination is to have great options for dining. And we do!

07/27/2024

A great day to visit Bear River! We are open 11am-6pm today and have charcuterie available for purchase while it lasts. Sourced and made locally by Kelly’s Catering here in Bear River.

07/19/2024

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed our first vintage of Lighthouse L’Acadie Blanc, and in turn helped us to support Lydia’s Crew in the BMO Ride for Cancer.

It was an honour to be able to share the wine, and the story that is dear to our hearts, with so many of our guests.

We look forward to next season, and the vintage we will create with the crop currently thriving in this lush season.

Next year there will be a new charity chosen by another bereaved Mom who is also close to our hearts.

Until then we encourage people to consider that whatever wine they choose, there is always an opportunity to share a glass, listen to their stories and be their light.

07/07/2024

Have you visited our area lately? We still have some openings in our guest room for this season!

07/01/2024

Happy Canada Day! If you are in the Annapolis Royal - Digby area for Canada Day festivities today, the winery is open 11am-6pm. Drop in for a glass or flight over looking the vineyard.

Happy Canada Day! Join us for this fun, schedule event events. All events are being held as scheduled, with the exception that the Community Band performance will now take place at the Community Hub gym, 578 Saint George St.

06/25/2024

Looking for a relaxing long weekend getaway?

We have a last minute opening in our guest suite this coming weekend.

Two or three night stay available. Includes a complimentary tour and tasting and a chilled bottle of our award winning 1611 White wine.

Call or message us for details.

06/23/2024

Bearly Baco is a favourite here at the winery. Near and dear to our hearts as one of the first wines we developed with our consultant back in 2017.

The saignée method used to make this richly coloured and flavourful rosé only allows us to make small lots.

Reduced crop levels coming out of the polar vortex of 2023 means that our production was much smaller than usual and we are already down to only a few cases.

If you want to try this consistent award winning wine we suggest you visit us soon before the sun sets on this beauty for another year.

06/20/2024

Our 2024 Medal winners! 3 silver medals from Finger Lakes International Wine Competition:

Red Eft - a lightly oaked vintage of our traditional blend of Marquette, Baco Noir, and Marechal Foch.

Signature 1611 - our first vintage of this white blend of Frontenac Gris, Seyval Blanc, and L’Acadie Blanc. Fruit forward, medium sweetness, crisp finish.

Emboldened - our classic Baco Noir / Marechal Foch field blend. Each vintage is a bit different but consistently delivers a velvety smooth finish.

All three wines made from 100% Nova Scotian grapes. Most came from our own vineyard here at the winery, but thanks also to contributions from our local growers: Seyval Blanc from Parlan Family Vineyard (Ian and Leslie); Frontenac Gris from LaPointe Family Vineyards (Jeff and Diane); and Marquette from Bloody Creek Vineyard (Ross and Monica).

We are open 11am-6pm daily until October

06/18/2024

What a spring we have had here in the Bear River Valley. Our Baco Noir is flowering early this year as a result of the favourable weather and our other varieties are not far behind. About a week ahead of most seasons.

Now, if we can just keep the deer away from it… a doe had her fawn in the thicket at the bottom of the vineyard this spring. Even our deer fence can’t keep mama from getting in and out to check on baby, and she snacks on vines while visiting. We expect (hope) that once the fawn can fend for itself and leave the vineyard we won’t see them anymore.

06/16/2024

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads and grandpas out there. Please note that we will be closing at 5pm today so that we can spend the evening with our families in the Valley.

Hours for Sunday, June 16th: 11am-5pm

06/08/2024

Come join us this weekend as we officially launch, Lighthouse L’Acadie.

Our third memorial wine was crafted in honour of bereaved parents.

Share a Glass. Listen to their stories.
Be their Light.

Lighthouses are powerful symbols. Signifying hope and safety. A guiding light in the darkness.

This imagery resonates to personal losses within our own family. The label artwork was done by Su’s maternal Grandma, herself a bereaved Mother.

A portion of proceeds will be donated with each new vintage, to a charity chosen by bereaved parents and their families.

This year we are honoured to support:
“Lydia’s Crew” in the BMO Ride for Cancer.

Our regular guided tastings in the tasting room this weekend will include a complimentary sample of Lighthouse.

06/06/2024

We are just about sold out of this special wine. Many thanks to everyone who was part of developing it with us, and to our customers whose support enabled us to in turn support the Annapolis Valley Victorian Order of Nurses in memory of Val.

Fingers crossed that 2024 is a good growing season and we get the chance to share it with you all again!

06/04/2024

05/30/2024

05/25/2024

We were fortunate to have Roger visit our winery a couple of times over the last few years. He was always generous with his time and supportive with his comments. We always felt energized and positive about our industry following a visit from Roger. He will be missed.

Today we remember Roger Dial; a pioneer of Nova Scotia wine and a true believer in the future of this industry. We thank him for everything he gave to help develop Nova Scotia as a wine destination, from opening the original Grand Pré Winery in 1980, to developing and advocating for the L’Acadie Blanc grape and helping to implement the Farm Winery Act. The Nova Scotia wine industry owes a large part of its success to the determination and vision of Roger Dial.

Thank you, Roger, for everything you did.