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The 'doctor' is in . . . the cellar 
Gina Haverstock
At Gaspereau vineyards, near Wolfville, Nova Scotia, the grapes spring from the soils of the Annapolis Valley. But the wines made by Gina Haverstock have some of their roots in the Niagara peninsula.
The native of Cape Breton Island, who had originally planned to study the science of medicine and become a doctor, switched instead to the science of oenology and viticulture. After taking her early biochemistry education at the University of New Brunswick, she packed up and went to Brock University.
Four years after graduating from Brock – preceded by internships at wineries ranging from Germany to New Zealand – she's back home, the winemaker at one of her province's newest wine operations, as Annapolis builds a profile based on grapes as well as apples.
Just as Niagara was known at first principally for its whites, Nova Scotia – now with 10 wineries – is gaining a small reputation for varieties such as New York Muscat, L’Acadie, Seyval and Riesling – ideal since the province is known for its marvellous seafood.
At Gaspereau, they also grow l'Acadie Blanc, a dry white hybrid developed years ago at Vineland Station just down from Brock. But there are also reds, such as Marechal Foch, Lucie Kuhlmann, and DeChaunac varieties, that do well in the maritime province.
It was more than a decade ago that Haverstock, working her way through a biochem degree in New Brunswick, spent some time at the family cottage. That retreat just happened to be near Jost Vineyards, in the same family business as the newer Gaspereau winery. She took a summer job at Jost.
“I was basically a blank slate when I went to Jost,” says Haverstock, 31. As Gina became a student of the vines, she “quickly fell in love with wine.” And she became a Sommelier. She looked to Brock University to learn more.
“Brock was the only place – I think it still may be the only place in Canada – where you can get a bachelor of science with an Honours in Oenology and viticulture.” (Her fiancé, Sean Myles, a former McMaster University student, is now doing post-doctoral work on grape genetics at Cornell University in Ithaca.)
So she studied under Dr. Gary Pickering and others at the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) at Brock. And there were internships in vineyards in Germany, Austria, France and New Zealand.
By 2004, Karen and Hans Christian Jost had opened their second winery, the Gaspereau location. Haverstock “eagerly accepted” a chance to return, back in the fold again in 2006. And she became aggressive in her wine aspirations. She crafted the difficult Pinot Noir, the so-called 'heartbreak grape'.
“I tried to pull from things I saw in Burgundy, and from dealing with Pinot Noir in Germany as well: fermentation temperatures, cold soaks, pre-fermentation, things like that,” she said in an interview earlier this year. “I tried to always be very gentle with it, with minimal moving in the cellar.”
Her wine efforts won acclaim. A 2006 Riesling took a silver medal at the All-Canadian Wine Championships in 2007. The 2007 won gold at the same competition last year. The success she and others enjoy in Nova Scotia told her she was right to make the journey back home.
“I think your heart pulls you home and there definitely is so much going on. The industry is just moving completely forward here. ... I think a lot of people in Nova Scotia believe it will be like Niagara in 15 years. But I think it will have a different feel -- Niagara with a Nova Scotia twist.”
posted: 6/15/2009
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