At least for now, the hard work is done in the fields at Bent Ridge Winery. So, owner Glenn Dodge is filling his time by putting a fresh coat of paint on the building that houses the restaurant and a retail sales space. “We started this vineyard in 2009, it was planted. We built the main winery in 2017, open in 2018,” Dodge says. Focus will return to the grapes next month when it’s time to harvest this year’s crop. According to Dodge, the growing season has been a good one and that’s something he’s hearing from other grape growers across Nova Scotia. “Last year was the best ever, grapes don’t need a whole lot of water, but they do need sunshine and heat, and we had that last year,” says Dodge. “This year has been very good, we’ve had a lot of heat and a lot of sunshine, we’ve had probably more than enough water.” Nova Scotia has over 18 wineries in seven regions, producing over 1.74 million litres of wine a year. That’s equivalent to 211,000 cases. Dodge, however, prefers to operate on a smaller scale than most. “We are a 2,000 case winery. That makes us one of the smallest wineries in the province, but we only sell out of our restaurant and our new venue for weddings, so it provides plenty of wine for us.” Following two good years, Dodge knows the unpredictability of grape growing can quickly produce a poor season next year so he bottles and stores what he can, while the fruit is plentiful. “You make lots of wine and you hold onto it cause there’s always going to be a bad year,” he says. But for now, it’s time to let this year’s grapes finish growing before the bottling process begins. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
