When people think of Canadian vineyards, it's BC’s Okanagan Valley or Ontario's Niagara region that come to mind. Few however, are aware of Nova Scotia's up and coming vineyards. The wine route in Nova Scotia has been slowly in the making over the past 25 years. It now boasts a total of eight vineyards that span across the province. I had the pleasure of visiting two of these distinguished vineyards, each with their own distinctive history and delicious wine.

Our first stop was Domaine de Grand Pré, which coincidently is also the first winery in Atlantic Canada. Situated in picturesque Annapolis Valley, a cobblestone path leads the way to the wine boutique. Here we had the opportunity to taste red wines made from Maréchal Foch and Léon Millot grape varieties as well as white wine made from l'Acade and New York Muscat. My personal favorite however, was the Stutz Hard Apple Cider whose 'apples with attitude' look was as refreshing as its taste.

After wine tasting and a little bit of shopping, we took a walk along the vast grounds where there were an impressive number of rows upon rows of grape vines. The winery was bought by Hanspeter Stutz in 1993 and since then it has become an impressive family enterprise. His son, Juerg Stutz is the chief winemaker, his daughter-in-law runs the gift shop and wine-tasting centre, and his daughter manages the Swiss-style fine dining restaurant Le Caveau, where her husband works as the head chef. Their doors opened in the year 2000 and that same year, their wines garnered three notable Canadian Championship awards.

The tour ended on the pergola, a lovely terrace where many sat, sipping their wine while simultaneously taking in the breathtaking views of Blomidon.

We then took a short drive to the Gaspereau Vineyards. Though the vineyard only opened its doors in 2004, they are already well-known for their full-bodied red wines such as Luci Kuhlman and DeChaunac and gold-medal winning Seyval Blanc and Ortega Vidal Ice wine. Situated in the bucolic Gaspereau valley, this boutique winery sits where there was once an apple orchard. The 35 acres of vineyards were planted in 1996, and the rest is history.

About two hours from Moncton, Domaine de Grand Pre and Gaspereau vineyards are open all summer for shopping and wine tasting tours, and both definitely worth the day trip.

For more information on the "Wines of Nova Scotia Tour" go to www.winesofnovascotia.ca or call 1-800-565-0000.