Benjamin Bridge
About
In little more than a decade, Benjamin Bridge has distinguished itself by its dedication to time proven techniques, expert guidance, and most importantly its acclaimed, distinctive wines. Our experienced winemakers work in collaboration with international experts to produce world-class Méthode Classique sparkling wines and limited edition luxury wines. Our innovative sparkling wines display the hallmarks of classic prestige cuvées from Champagne, but with a Nova Scotia signature. “They are, without question, the best sparkling wines I have tasted in Canada,” says Tony Aspler, Canada’s most renowned wine authority. Our collection of hand crafted fine wines, including perennial sell-out Nova 7, together with our sparkling wine program, have helped raise the profile of Nova Scotia terroir and its winemaking in Canada and internationally.
Location Description
The Benjamin Bridge vineyards are located in the heart of the Gaspereau Valley on the Bay of Fundy, where the cool climate bears an uncanny affinity with the Champagne region of France.
Features
- Canada's most acclaimed sparkling wine house
Additional Information
- Meeting / Conference Facilities:
- Caves:
- Wedding Facilities:
- Picnic Facilities:
- Dog Friendly:
- Winery Tours:
- Wine Tasting:
- Art or Architecture:
- Organic / Biodynamic:
- Awards:
- Wine Club:
- Lodging / Bed & Breakfast:
Winemaker
Originally from Québec, Jean-Benoit began his winemaking apprenticeship at VOE (Vinedos Organicos Emiliana), a biodynamic vineyard/winery in Chile’s Colchagua Valley, which was created by one of Chile’s largest producers, Vina Santa Emilina, to produce exceptional wines. Having mostly worked in California, he made wine at Casa Barranca (2004-2008), the first certified organic winery in Santa Barbara County. In California, his winemaking efforts garnered accolades and standout reviews from Robert Parker and Steven Tanzer (90+).
Since 2008, Jean-Benoit’s winemaking has elevated Benjamin Bridge’s wine programs to new heights with consistent 90-95+ scores and unanimous high praise from the nation’s leading wine critics along with growing international recognition.
History
Benjamin Bridge engages leading international winery consultant and winemaker Peter J. Gamble, along with his partner, winemaker Ann Sperling. Land cleared and tiled, subsoil fractured in preparation for the first plantings.
First five acres planted in four blocks. Gamble and Sperling invite oenologist Raphaël Brisbois, the world’s foremost Champagne authority and former chef de cave for Piper Heidsieck, to tour and assess the vineyard.
After seeing tremendous potential of the vineyard, Brisbois agrees to consult ongoingly with Benjamin Bridge. Seven experimental sparkling cuvées made in order to better understand the terroir; the varieties, structure, and aromatics of the wine.
Six year-round computerized temperature loggers installed. Further experimental cuvées created.
Coolest grape-growing season in 20 years. Grape analyses meet Brisbois’ exacting criteria. This vintage becomes the inaugural release of Benjamin Bridge sparklings.
Volume of sparkling cuvées increased as more estate grapes come into production.
A devastating winter (-26.5ºC) hits Gaspereau, leading to an extremely limited vinifera harvest. No wines are created.
With vinifera resurgent, two wines are created. An early-disgorged classic method sparkling debuts at Michael Howell’s “Taste of Nova Scotia” event in New York City, hosted by the James Beard Foundation.
After a two-year search, Jean-Benoit Deslauriers is chosen to join the Benjamin Bridge winemaking team. The Benjamin Bridge vineyards are officially certified organic. Volume of Méthode Classique sparklings increased as vineyard continues to fuller fruition. David Lawrason, one of Canada’s most respected wine journalists, visits Benjamin Bridge: “I can’t say enough about how good these wines are.”
In a singular honour for Benjamin Bridge, leading international Champagne expert Tom Stevenson selects our early-disgorged sparkling for presentation at the first International Sparkling Wine Symposium in London, England.
Two Benjamin Bridge Méthode Classique sparkling wines are released, the 2004 Brut Reserve and 2004 Blanc de Noirs.
Beppi Crosariol, renowned wine critic for the Globe and Mail, declares our 2004 Méthode Classique Brut Reserve “a sparkler that rivals Champagne” and “one of the best Canadian wines I’ve tasted”.
Benjamin Bridge’s 2008 Méthode Classique Rosé is selected for inclusion in an event held during the 2012 London Olympics, promoting and celebrating Canada’s best wines. The much-anticipated BB Club debuts.
After success in Ontario’s Vintages, Benjamin Bridge is set to enter the Alberta, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec markets.
The Team
Head Viticulturist
Scott Savoy is a highly trained viticulturist who joined Benjamin Bridge in January 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Science Agriculture with a major in Plant Sciences from the Nova Scotia Agriculture College, and has worked as a crop management researcher for multiple levels of government.
For many years, he applied his research knowledge to the successful management of apple orchards in New Brunswick before transitioning to the senior role of vineyard manager at acclaimed Pearl Morissette Estate Winery in Ontario. Today, as Vineyard Manager and Head Viticulturist at Benjamin Bridge, Scott brings over 15 years of agricultural experience to its organic vineyard. He is focused on adopting new crop management practices, including European high-density planting techniques, innovative plant nutrition programs, stimulating biodiversity, and allowing the purest expression of the terroir possible.
Peter J. Gamble
Lead Wine Consultant
Peter J. Gamble is a Canadian winemaking icon and an established international wine consultant. A resident of Ontario’s Niagara wine region, Peter was the founding executive director of Canada’s Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), a body responsible for defining and establishing Canadian winemaking standards and maintaining the integrity of provincially designated wine appellations.
Peter has been working with Benjamin Bridge since 2000 and consults to several other top-end boutique wineries, and fulfills proprietary and winemaking roles in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley and in Mendoza, Argentina.
Peter has a broad and detailed knowledge of the world’s finest wines and is a highly sought-after international wine judge.
Raphaël Brisbois
Sparkling Wine Consultant
Sparkling wine specialist Raphaël Brisbois hailed from Champagne, France, and lived in Napa Valley, California. Raphaël had more than three decades of expertise in winemaking.
He received a Masters in Viticulture and Enology from Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Agronomie in Montpellier. Former chef de cave of the legendary French Champagne house Piper-Heidsieck, Raphaël also ran the vineyards and winery operations for Champagne India in East Bombay before joining Iron Horse Vineyards in California, where he led their sparkling wine production. Raphaël began his own winemaking consultancy in 1995, and was a partner in Gary Raphaël Vintners LLC. He began consulting in Nova Scotia in 2002 and continued until late 2013 when he passed away.
Founders:
When founder Gerry McConnell and his late wife Dara Gordon purchased the Gaspereau Valley property in 1999, it wasn’t a business proposition — it was a passion for the land and for seeing things grow.
Longtime lovers of fine food and wine, the couple were inspired by a recent tour of South African vineyards, and dreamed of creating world-class wines in their native Canada.
Gerry charged Peter J. Gamble with evaluating the potential of the vineyard, with a three-year timeline: if world-class wines couldn’t be produced, Benjamin Bridge would cease to exist. To Gerry’s great satisfaction, both the vines and the business would soon thrive.
About Gerry McConnell:
A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Gerry was called to the Bar of Nova Scotia in 1971. He was an associate and partner with the law firm Patterson Palmer from 1971 to 1987, and received his Queen’s Counsel designation in 1986.
In the 1980s, Gerry’s career evolved into mining. In the 1990s his firm’s interests took him to Africa. During his time there, Gerry was so struck by the beauty of the land and the spirit of the people that he (along with Dr. John Savage, the former premier of Nova Scotia) invested in social programs to improve schools, infrastructure, and medical programs in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, and South Africa.
In 2003, Gerry received the Paul Harris Award from Rotary International in recognition of his company’s humanitarian contributions to health and education initiatives in Africa.
Gerry is director and CEO of Namibia Rare Earths Inc., a public Canadian company focused on development of rare earth opportunities in Namibia.
About Dara Gordon:
A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dara was called to the bar in 1979 and received her Queen’s Counsel designation in 1998. She was a partner with the law firm McInnes Cooper and a member of its Board of Directors.
Dara’s legal practice focused on large resource-based and infrastructure projects, including work for the Government of Nova Scotia.
In 2008 Dara began managing the growing operations of Benjamin Bridge part-time, and oversaw the winery’s inaugural release, 2007 Nova 7. An active member of the Grape Growers Association of Nova Scotia and founding member of the Winery Association of Nova Scotia, Dara was also involved in the development of Nova Scotia Wine Standards.
In late 2009 Dara passed away. Her contributions to the Nova Scotia legal community and her mentorship of women in law and business are remembered by the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and McInnes Cooper through the annual event Women — Strength in Leadership: Remembering Dara Gordon QC.
About Devon and Ashley McConnell-Gordon:
Since early 2010, Gerry and Dara’s twin daughters Devon and Ashley McConnell-Gordon have run the daily operations of the winery. Devon, a graduate of the Dalhousie School of Architecture, is general manager, working closely with the vineyard manager and winemaker on all harvest and production matters as well as overseeing the Nova Scotia retail market. Ashley, a graduate of the Dalhousie School of Law, manages the financial aspects of the business as well as the winery’s growing export markets.
Estate Vineyards / AVA
Vineyard manager Scott Savoy and his team nurture the natural strengths of our estate by using certified organic growing practices, letting nothing artificial come between the land and the berry.
Rigorous attention during harvest, including hand-selection of fruit into small bins, protects our grapes’ integrity for winemaking, further ensuring our artisan wines are true reflections of place.