Review: Grape Escapes Wine Tour

My brother and his fiancé were very generous this year and got me a gift card for a wine tour for my birthday back in April.

The wine tour company was Grape Escapes and they run tours all year round (probably covid dependent but what isn’t these days)

I finally cashed it in in October on my vacation to take in my own back yard of Wolfville. The tour guide was well informed of the area and it’s history- it was sometimes hard to hear her with the mask but again.. Sign of the times.

We hit up 3 vineyards:

1. Luckette’s Vineyard

2. Benjamin Bridge; and

3. L’Acadie

The thing that I enjoyed the most had very little to do with the actual wine tour- there was a sense of normal this day I hadn’t felt in awhile. Full vaccination was required because of course you can’t have a mask on while taste testing wine so you were just simply surrounded by 25 other strangers drinking wine, seldom mask wearing, pretending the world isn’t going bonkers just for a second. That was nice. Especially as I write this 99% of my holiday plans have been kyboshed due to Omicron… But I digress, I have little to complain about living in Nova Scotia through all of this.

First stop: Luckette’s Vineyard for wine and lunch.

We tried 5 types of wine, all whites (yay) and some had a sparkling touch which was very enjoyable. Lunch was very carb centric (no surprise- but also no complaints- I love bread)

Everything was well scheduled, we spend the most time here since we could eat, drink plus they had a shop to enjoy (that I bought a book from). There was also lots of time to get the iconic red phone booth photo.

Second Stop: Benjamin Bridge

I can not even begin to describe the beauty of this location, if I didn’t know better I’d swear we teleported to Italy. The valley plains were just incredible.

This stop we probably spend the least amount of time, it’s not a huge site but the wines were certainly delicious. I believe we tried 3- 2 whites and a rosé. All sparking as Benjamin Bridge is known for.

We got a small tour of their production which was neat but it was a little squish for so many people to be in there. (still need some personal space c’mon guys). Due to the small space this was probably my lesser favorite of the 3 stops but you still can’t beat that view.

Benjamin Bridge Winery

Final Stop: L’Acadie Vineyards

Another breathtaking site but this one more so for it’s architecture as opposed to the nature. These buildings are rich in culture and I look forward to going back and trying the restaurant out.

We had 5 different wines here and this was the first place that served reds (not my favorite) but my partner loved the dessert wine we got to try and we grabbed it from the shop before leaving the site (along with bacon jam)

Overall it was an enjoyable time, I do think however, if I do it again I’d attempt to arrange a private tour. As much as it was nice to feel like I was in a normal group setting it’s still nicer to be a part of your own “bubble” when laughing and sipping wine.

For the public event they used a large Coach bus and from what I was told a smaller more intimate van is used for the private tours which would feel a little less tourist-y.

Recipe: Tea Biscuit Mix from Farmer John's Herbs

I got a tea biscuit in my Nova Scotia Community Haul box. Every month I receive 4-5 local items and it’s so much fun to take advantage of.

(PS. this is not an ad I just really like the thing I get in this box)

The mix was pretty simple, just needed to add shortening and milk. I made the tea biscuits my own by adding some Skor bits (so I essentially made scones instead) I had in the cupboard already and cut then in triangles to avoid the excess dough from cutting in circles. (Yes I’m that lazy sometimes.)

Baked them in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 14 minutes and had a set of decedent caramel scones.

Since I’d already messed with things I also drizzled with a little icing to set the mood.

I’m usually not a big fan of mixes, just adds excess packaging IMO when usually the mix is just dry ingredients and leavening agents already mixed together but it does inspire me to try something different at least!

I’ve found supporting local can make an even bigger impact than going completely zero waste, emissions from exports is still a huge concern for me so I’d rather use a product made within 300km of my house then know a zero waste product had to come from China. It’s been a nice balance.

Hopefully Farmer John won’t be too offended that I changed up the recipe at least. Still delicious I promise John!