Another Great Staycation Day!

Sure, you can fly to California, France or Italy to visit some fine vineyards, but why do that when an abundance of quality vineyards are in your own backyard.  Welcome to Nova Scotia aka God’s Country, where the people are down to earth & have a great appreciation for the finer things in life such as wine. 

Yesterday, Brian and I drove to Gaspereau Valley to visit Luckett  Vineyards for lunch and a wine tasting. The green scenery of the vineyard on site is absolutely breath taking, not to mention the background.  Luckett’s has a posh feel to it yet is not pretentious but rather down to earth.  Nova Scotia can give you a rare moment of visiting something European, yet is just an hour’s drive away. 

Lunch was outdoors beneath a white canopy as though attending a wedding or an event, with tables neatly arranged & stacked with cutlery as it awaited the guests who would quickly fill the tent up by half noon. 

We arrived just before noon and found a perfect wee table for us which captured a bit of sun for me and shade for the boy.  It was surprisingly chilly with the sweet smells of the vineyard caught up in the late morning breeze.  Snuggly warm blankets were provided! 

Cheers!

The menu was simple and the prices were more than reasonable, especially for what you received.  I was chilly for the first half hour so I went with something warm and hearty. 

I went with the Chicken Pie which has a  savory gravy spiked with Ortega wine!  It was delicious and the chicken was impeccable with no wobbly bits which I often seem to find in most chicken pies. It was pure perfection!  I was a happy girl.  It came with a side of spicy chips and a kale slaw which was full of flavor and not “Kale” like at all! 

Look at the scrumptiousness of my pie below:

We shared a bottle of a new favorite of mine “Phone Box Fizz”. The only problem is that you can only purchase  it at Luckett Vineyards. 

Brian had the pulled pork sliders which he enjoyed tremendously.

Then I went into the store and did a tasting of five wines.  I am by no means a wine connoisseur so all I can say is I like it or I don’t like it. I tried the new Sparkling Georgia which was a nice light peach wine with fizz- I liked it. Then the Buried  White – zingy, lots of flavors & I liked it a lot! Tidal Bay – Nova Scotia’s own Appalachian grape, no brainer here – delicious. Then not being a fan of reds I tried two anyway. 

Buried red was a lot for my palate, it was rich, smooth and hearty. This would be a great wine to pair with a fine cut of beef. I like my white wine, but for a red wine this one was very good! I was surprised by the robustness as I know Nova Scotia is stronger with making quality whites. The other red was called Triumph, it was good but not as good as the Buried Red, but in all fairness- the Buried Red is a more complex flavor with more involved in the creation of the wine.

You can check out Luckett Vineyards virtually at http://luckettvineyards.com

Had to take the mandatory phone box photo! 

We got a few bottles of the Phone Box Fizz, and I dropped off a bottle to my parents who live in the Annapolis Valley on the Bay of Fundy in a tiny cottage town called Port George.

Sadly, once the Phone Box Fizz is gone we will have to make another trip to the gorgeous Gaspereau Valley, darn…

This Staycation day was fantastic one to remember, not too pricey and all in my own backyard of Nova Scotia. 

Peace & Love – Rachel