From world-class sparkling wines to hybrids and cool-climate character, four leading voices discuss what defines Atlantic Canadian wine today—and where it’s headed next
Atlantic Canadian wine has spent years proving what can be done at the edge of where grapes can grow. That is no longer the only story. Traditional method sparkling wines have become a calling card, aromatic whites and crisp chardonnays are finding increasingly confident expressions, hybrid varieties are attracting renewed attention, and new projects are testing what else the region can do.
We asked four winemakers working across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to talk about how they found their way into wine, what makes Atlantic Canadian wine distinctive, the misconceptions that persist, and what excites them most about what comes next.
First things first: how did you find your way into wine?
“Years of hard living and questionable decision making,” says Mike Mainguy, Executive Winemaker at Luckett Vineyards. Then, more seriously: “I have always loved the magic of it all. From amateur teenage experimentation, onto university and college, then establishing my career out East.” In 2026, Mainguy is heading into his 17th harvest in Nova Scotia and his 16th with Luckett.
“Wine was something I enjoyed and wanted to learn more about,” says Simon Rafuse, Winemaker at Blomidon Estate Winery, who came to wine from a science background. “I started travelling and meeting winemakers and realized it was a career I wanted to pursue.” After winemaking school and a handful of harvests around the world, he was offered a job at Blomidon.
Mike Mainguy of Luckett Vineyards (courtesy of Jessica Emin).
Zach Everett, Co-Owner and Winemaker at Magnetic Hill Winery and Loose Wire Winery, grew up on his family’s strawberry farm in New Brunswick, but was already away at university studying for what he calls “a good desk job” when his parents started the winery. “I ended up dropping out, travelling the world and hitchhiking with a German grapegrower, and being invited back to harvest with them as my serendipitous path into wine,” he says. “It struck me as the perfect fusion of agriculture, tourism, art, business, marketing, and my new passion for food and languages.”
“I grew up on the farm where our Home Farm vineyard is today — my sisters and I are the fourth generation to farm here,” says Rachel Lightfoot, Director of Operations & Winemaking at Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards. While studying science at university, Lightfoot spent summers helping in the vineyard as her family began planting grapevines to diversify the farm. The experience sparked a passion for wine and the potential of the Annapolis Valley as a wine region, eventually leading her to study oenology and viticulture at Brock University in Niagara before returning home to help build and grow the winery around a decade ago.
What makes Atlantic Canadian wine distinctive right now?
Lightfoot sees that distinctiveness through the lens of climate and geography. “Atlantic Canadian wines are shaped by our cool climate and proximity to the ocean, resulting in wines with freshness, vibrant acidity, aromatic intensity and moderate alcohol levels,” she says. “They offer a distinctive sense of place and a style that feels lively and expressive.”
Zach Everett (courtesy of Magnetic Hill Winery).
Rafuse points to a character that persists across varieties and styles. “The combination of freshness, acidity, salinity and aromatics is something we can celebrate,” he says. “There’s no mistaking them, really.”
For Mainguy, that distinctiveness comes from what the region demands of both growers and vines. “We live on the fringe of where you can grow grapes, and I once read — and believe — that most of the truly interesting things in life thrive in that fringe,” he says. “You see it in the people, the wines and the regional expressions of what grows here.”
What does the region do especially well — and what misconceptions persist?
There is broad agreement on the region’s strengths: sparkling wines, aromatic whites and freshness.
Rafuse gives a particular nod to traditional method sparkling wines, which he says have “really become the calling card for Nova Scotia wine and what we’re most known for abroad.” But he is quick to push beyond bubbles. “The whites, like our appellation wine Tidal Bay, and the crisp and clean chardonnays are also standouts, especially when paired with our local seafood.”
“Sparkling. Aromatics. Freshness,” says Mainguy. “We do it all incredibly well in so many unique styles. We are small but mighty, driven and persistent in what we practice and produce in our tough little corner of the world.”
Lightfoot also points to traditional-method sparkling wine and aromatic white varieties, thanks to the region’s cool climate and strong natural acidity. She pushes back, however, on a persistent assumption: that cool-climate wines are necessarily light or simple. “Our best wines consistently show both concentration and complexity while maintaining freshness and balance,” she says.
Rachel Lightfoot (courtesy of Lightfoot & Wolfville).
For Everett, one of the region’s clearest strengths can also become a constraint. “Crisp whites and sparklings that pair beautifully with seafood truly capture the ‘what grows together, goes together’ mantra,” he says. “But because that makes so much sense on paper, it’s hard to convince people that we should do anything else.”
For Mainguy, misconceptions are less a frustration than an opportunity. “Misconceptions are always easily swayed with discovery,” he says. “And I like that.”
How does your particular site or region shape the wines in a tangible way?
The ocean is the obvious thread, but in a region of dramatically different sites, its influence is anything but uniform.
In New Brunswick, Everett’s answer begins somewhere very different: within the city limits. “Magnetic Hill and Loose Wire are rare urban vineyards,” he says. At Loose Wire, power poles run straight through the site, creating what he describes as a tension between “urban versus rural, natural versus industrial.”
Then there are the coastal vineyards. “We’re standing in the vineyard, staring at boats full of lobster in front of us,” he says. “Embracing that unique terroir and then writing the playbook of what to grow, how to grow it, what to make and how to make it shapes what we do.”
Simon Rafuse of Blomidon Estate pours for winery guests (courtesy of Jessica Emin).
At Lightfoot & Wolfville, the vineyards sit close to the Minas Basin, an inlet of the Bay of Fundy. “The tides have a significant influence on our growing conditions,” Lightfoot says. “This proximity helps moderate temperatures, creating a microclimate that allows us to successfully grow more cold-sensitive varieties and extend hang-times, while the constant airflow helps reduce disease pressure in what can be at times a wet climate — an especially relevant advantage for organic viticulture.”
Blomidon’s estate vineyard sits directly on the shore of the Minas Basin. Rafuse points to the combination of sandy soils and tidal influence, which he says gives the wines “an elegance and finesse” and makes them extremely long-lived.
At Luckett, Mainguy comes back to the ocean. “We are surrounded by ocean. It is never far away,” he says. “It defines us. It controls our seasons. It allows us to grow. It’s in the people, it’s in the terroir, and it’s in the glass.”
What is exciting you most right now?
For Rafuse, part of the answer is recovery. After the devastating 2023 polar vortex, varieties absent for the past few years are beginning to return. “We’ve got a new Pinot Noir and our first still Gamay coming out this year, and also more Chardonnay — finally, our first since 2022 — which is really exciting.”
Mainguy is encouraged by renewed interest in hybrid grape varieties, particularly among critics and the professional wine community. “We as a region have championed it for decades and helped define what could be achieved reputationally through great work,” he says. He points to Tidal Bay as a testament to that work: “a true success story, and also an incredibly fun wine to make.”
“We’re moving beyond proving that great wine can be made here.” – Rachel Lightfoot
That interest is hardly new at Luckett. The winery decided early to champion locally grown, hybrid-driven reds, even when experts advised against it.
For Everett, “the sky is the limit.” In New Brunswick, he says, there is finally proof of concept for a handful of grape varieties and wine styles, while the region is still “only scratching the surface of what’s possible.” Just as exciting is what happens in the tasting room. “Seeing that change of opinion firsthand, and making believers out of skeptics, is equally important to the work that we’re doing behind the scenes to make great wine,” he says. “We’ll never have a thriving wine region 20 years from now unless we start to drink more local wine today.”
For Lightfoot, what excites her most is seeing Nova Scotia come into its own as a wine region.
“We’re moving beyond proving that great wine can be made here and becoming more confident in the varieties, wine styles and growing conditions that make our region unique and make sense here,” she says. “We’re increasingly embracing our own identity, and I think that’s leading to more distinctive and authentic wines.”
One last round — a few final questions on what drives the work
Blomidon has long been associated with some of Nova Scotia’s strongest sparkling wines. What is it about the site — and the climate — that makes it so well suited to the style?
“Being from an oceanfront vineyard lends the wines a character I don’t think you could replicate elsewhere,” Rafuse says. “The elegance and linearity you get in Blomidon sparkling wines define them, and I think people appreciate that distinct profile.”
Lightfoot & Wolfville has been one of the most visible champions of organic and regenerative viticulture in Atlantic Canada. How has that philosophy evolved over the years, and what impact do you think it has on the wines in the glass?
“We’ve farmed our estate vineyards organically since planting began in 2009, achieving full Ecocert organic and Demeter biodynamic certification in 2016,” Lightfoot says. “Our philosophy has always been about building healthy, resilient vineyards that can express our site as authentically as possible. We believe that healthier soils and vines ultimately produce wines with greater balance, character and a stronger sense of place.”
What pushed you to launch Loose Wire as a separate project — and what did it allow you to explore that felt different from Magnetic Hill?
“I love experimenting!” Everett says. But between an ever-growing list of new varieties and a diverse range of trials and styles from the same grapes, he says the winery could no longer properly shine a spotlight on the right mix of wines.
“We simply outgrew one winery’s ability to do justice to the storytelling and marketing needed to convince people that we can actually make great wine in New Brunswick,” he says. Loose Wire allows the team to double down on experiments, create their first wine club and help grow the cluster of producers needed to change perceptions of New Brunswick wine.
And what do you wish more people understood about how quickly things are changing?
“At Magnetic Hill and Loose Wire — and really across New Brunswick as a wine region — we’re growing at warp speed. We opened Magnetic Hill in 2005 with three fruit wines and a firm promise to ourselves that we’d never grow grapes here. That promise clearly didn’t last once we realized the potential here for grapes. Our first big grape harvest wasn’t until 2017, and honestly, we didn’t really start believing in our own local grapes until 2020. Since then, we’ve been learning and evolving incredibly quickly. Now, with Loose Wire, we’re doubling down on experimentation and pushing at what New Brunswick wine can be. We’re basically building the plane as we fly it — and that’s the exciting part.”
Luckett has built a reputation for wines that feel approachable and unpretentious, while still taking quality seriously. How intentional is that balance?
“I’ve always wanted all of our wines approachable, with balance and a quality focus,” Mainguy says. “I loathe pretension in our wine world. I fear it keeps people from enjoying beautiful things in life. Balance in the wines, and in the day to day, is very important to me. It always has been.”
You came to Nova Scotia from Ontario when the region was still very much proving itself. What convinced you there was serious potential here?
“I saw such potential for happiness out here,” Mainguy says. “The industry was at the beginning of its modern history, and there seemed so much room to grow along with it.”
“Once I got here, I realized it was as much for the people as the place,” he says. “I just love it here.”
Where to start: Four Atlantic Canadian wines to try
Blomidon Estate Winery Brut Réserve, Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia
A multi-vintage blend of 90% chardonnay and 10% pinot noir from 2016, 2017 and 2018, this traditional-method sparkling spent four and a half years on lees before disgorgement. Citrus and spring flowers lead into toasted brioche, with bright acidity bringing lift and structure. Crisp, elegant and distinctly saline, it is a compelling expression of Nova Scotia’s maritime character.
Lightfoot & Wolfville Brut, Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia
Made entirely from chardonnay and aged 40 months on lees, this traditional-method sparkling balances cool-climate precision with subtle richness and texture. Honeycrisp apple and preserved citrus meet white blossom, toasted hazelnut and a distinctly stony, saline edge. A fine, taut mousse carries orchard fruit, citrus oil and wet stone through a long, elegant finish.
Luckett Vineyards ‘Phone Box’ Red, Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia
A five-grape blend of Castel, Lucie Kuhlmann, Marquette, Léon Millot and Maréchal Foch, this full-bodied red makes a compelling case for Nova Scotia-grown hybrids. Fourteen months in older oak keeps the wood in check while adding subtle cedar and vanilla around blackberry, stewed dark fruit and leather. Generous but structured, it carries firm tannins without losing the fruit at its core.
Magnetic Hill Winery ‘The OC’ Osceola by the Sea, New Brunswick
Magnetic Hill’s signature coastal white puts the hybrid Osceola grape centre stage, balancing a touch of sweetness with electric acidity and a gentle spritz. Fermentation and ageing in stainless steel keep the profile clean and fruit-forward, with apple, pear and lemon peel meeting subtle tropical fruit. Crisp and mouthwatering through the finish, it stays bright and lifted, with the acidity keeping the off-dry style firmly in balance.
– Alana Lapierre is eastern Canada and international editor for VineRoutes
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