Ryan McKibbon – the fourth – has been rising to the challenge, one vintage at a time. “There is a bit of weight on your shoulders, stepping into this role,” he said. “Not only are the wines legendary, but so are the vineyards. This is such a special pocket of land. It has so much to share and so much to give.”

The history

In 1996, Senka and Bob Tennant, along with Peter and Susan McCarrell, bought land on the Okanagan Valley’s Black Sage Bench near Oliver, B.C. Back then, Black Sage wasn’t particularly well known, but that was about to change.

The Tennants established the Sharp Rock and Double Black vineyards along the bench, planting them with Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Their original intention was simply to sell the fruit to wineries in the region, but when they realized how good the fruit was, they decided to start their own winery, with Senka serving as winemaker.

In 1999, they released the first vintage of Nota Bene, their flagship Bordeaux-style red blend. It didn’t take long for Nota Bene to develop a cult following, and following vintages sold out quickly. When the 2006 vintage was released, it sold out in just 47 minutes. “It isn’t just some little barrel selection,” McKibbon said. “It is a showcase of a given year and a given vintage.”

Black Hills Estate Winery – and the Black Sage Bench – were firmly established on the Okanagan wine map. Black Hills was sold in 2007 to Vinequest Wine Partners, an Alberta-based group. In 2017, it was acquired by Andrew Peller Ltd. and became part of its portfolio of wineries across B.C. and Ontario. It’s a big umbrella, but individual properties operate more or less independently.

“We are very lucky that in terms of structure, we get left alone to make the wines we want to make,” McKibbon said.

The team

McKibbon joined the Black Hills team in August 2022, working with winemaker Ross Wise, who joined the winery in 2018. When Wise’s role expanded to become director of winemaking for Andrew Peller Ltd., McKibbon took over as head winemaker (the pair had previously worked together at Phantom Creek Estate Winery).

While Andrew Peller Ltd. is international in scope, the Black Hills team is considerably smaller. There are roughly six full-time people on the winemaking team, while the tasting room and vineyard teams expand considerably during the hectic summer months.

Melanie Rusch is the Black Hills assistant winemaker, and Lissette Alvarez is the cellar master. Sam Strachan is the estate manager, overseeing hospitality, events and the annual Nota Bene release. Susan Watkins is the winery’s brand manager, handling marketing and trade. Finally, Shane Alaric, Kayla Halldorsen and Jordan Powell are also part of the team.

The wines

Nota Bene may dominate many of the Black Hills headlines, but the team also produces a wide array of other wines, including a Chardonnay, the Per Se Cabernet Franc, Syrah and a single-variety Carmenere. The Carmenere grape was originally planted for the Nota Bene blend but proved to be intensely aromatic and very popular on its own. Addendum is their Merlot-Cabernet Franc blend. They also produce an award-winning sparkling brut made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It undergoes traditional-method fermentation and rests on its yeast for 40 months before disgorging.

“Not a lot of people know about it, but we put a lot of time and effort into our sparkling wine program. It’s a passion project, and it’s really inspiring,” McKibbon said, adding that visitors to the tasting room are often offered a glass of bubbles when they arrive.

McKibbon is also excited about the wines they’re producing from Rhône varieties. Bona Fide is their Syrah-dominant red blend, and they also offer a single-variety Syrah bottling. “The Syrah is very expressive of the Black Sage Bench terroir,” he said, adding that Roussanne and Marsanne, two white French grapes, do especially well in the area. “And they’re a lot of fun to make,” he said.

The wines are primarily sold in B.C., and most are purchased by collectors who buy directly from the winery, either through the winery website or the wine club. Select releases are also available in Alberta.

The vineyards

Like so many Okanagan wineries, Black Hills was deeply affected by the 2024 deep freeze, which killed many of the region’s vines and, in some cases, wiped out entire varieties. The 2024 Nota Bene, part of the winery’s new Hiatus Collection, had to be made from fruit grown in Oregon. But the Black Hills team was lucky enough to replant.

“It’s like starting from scratch. We essentially remapped and reworked everything,” McKibbon said. “We planted a bit of Carmenere in the same spots, but a lot of other things have been moved around. As vintages got warmer, certain varieties weren’t in the best spots for what they needed – our Merlot, for instance. Now they are, we hope.”

While they had used the red-grape variety Tempranillo before, they had bought it from a nearby grower. Now, they have planted their own bush-trained (gobelet) Tempranillo using an ancient vineyard management style that allows vines to grow free-standing. “The bush-trained vineyards are adapting to climate change much more easily than trellis-trained vineyards,” said McKibbon.

Black Hills also recently introduced a Roussanne-based Rhône-style white blend, and they’ve planted some of their own estate Viognier for the first time.

The process

Climate change has meant that harvest is starting much earlier than it did in the winery’s first few years. “We just work with whatever the season gives us,” McKibbon said. Last year, they began picking in August, but the final grapes didn’t arrive until the first few weeks of November. McKibbon expects the 2026 harvest to be similar. “We’re all wrapped up by the start of December,” he said. “Everything’s just chilling out and entering its maturation phase.”

All the grapes are hand-harvested and hand-sorted once they arrive at the winemaking facility. While McKibbon has used optical grape-sorter machines in the past, he prefers to have real people make the decisions about which grapes go through. “I think [the optical sorters] are very good, but they remove a little of the variation and complexity,” he said. “I don’t mind the odd underripe berry getting through. It adds to the wine’s character.”

Equipment includes an Armbruster Rotovib Destemmer, a small Bucher JLB 12 Basket Press, and a Willmes Merlin wine press from Germany for their white wine grapes. “All the white grapes are whole-bunch pressed, very long and slow,” he said. “The quality is much better that way.”

Red ferments are primarily in stainless steel, while concrete vessels are mostly used for whites to add depth, he said. The oak program includes foudre, puncheon and barrique, and almost all barrels are French oak, with a few from Austria. From McKibbon’s perspective, less is always more. “We want the wines to speak for themselves,” he said.

While the winery does not follow organic or biodynamic winemaking practices, it works toward sustainability across every facet of the business. The tasting room kitchen, for instance, focuses on local and regional ingredients, and down the road, there are plans to add solar panels to help power the facility. The winery is also a proud member of Wine Growers Canada.

“We’re one of the largest vineyard holders in B.C. We want to be sure we are a good steward of our industry and that we are helping wherever we can,” said McKibbon.

The next chapter

Wildfire smoke has certainly been a challenge in recent years, as has leaf roll virus, which affects fruit clusters. There is no cure yet.

“Leaf roll virus was always something to navigate during harvest, as you get varying levels of ripeness throughout the block,” McKibbon said, adding that he is hopeful that replanting the vineyards will eliminate the virus and that it will be a smoke-free summer. “We should have a small crop from our estate vineyards this summer, which is exciting to see. And in two to three years, we’ll be back up to full production.”

That summer, she moved to her family’s cottage in Malagash, N.S., to study for the admissions exam. Hoping to land some work, she dropped off her resume at Jost Vineyards, a winery located a kilometre or so away from the cottage. “I couldn’t just study all summer. I needed to make some money,” she said. “But I knew nothing about wine, really.” That was about to change. Hans Christian Jost, then owner of Jost Vineyards, had the team taste through the winery’s entire lineup of wine. “I was fascinated. I couldn’t get enough of it,” Haverstock said. “It was a whole new world for me.”

The Jost family started Jost Vineyards in northern Nova Scotia in 1983, one of the first wineries in the province. They planted the first vineyard in the Gaspereau Valley in 1997. In 2004, Gaspereau Vineyards opened its doors to the public.

Gaspereau is situated on an almost 50-acre estate vineyard outside the town of Wolfville. The team farms 50-acres of vineyards, including 12 that were planted in spring 2014. In 2012, Jost and Gaspereau Vineyards were sold to Carl and Donna Sparkes and a short time later, an existing vineyard (now Mercator Vineyards) was purchased. The three wineries now operate under the Devonian Coast Wineries umbrella, and in 2018, Haverstock was named head winemaker for all. Each winery has its own unique style that focuses on different grape varieties and different winemaking techniques.

Gaspereau Vineyards is a boutique winery focusing on premium wines, including aromatic and terroir-driven whites and rosés and food-friendly reds. With the exception of Riesling, the only vinifera grape planted at Gaspereau, all their plantings are hybrids. Hybrid varietals include L’Acadie, New York Muscat, Marquette, Seyval Blanc, Vidal and Petite Milo.

The team is especially proud of their Tidal Bay wines, Nova Scotia’s signature white wine style and the province’s first and only wine appellation. Tidal Bay wines are crisp, aromatic white blends that must be made from grapes grown entirely within the province, and every vintage of each wine must be approved by an independent tasting panel. At least 51 per cent of the final blend must be made up of L’Acadie Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Vidal or Geisenheim 318, in combination or individually. Other grape varieties, including Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Frontenac Blanc, are optional and can be included up to a combined total of 49 per cent of the final blend, with the most aromatic varieties limited to a maximum of 15 per cent of the blend.

“Tidal Bay wines represent Nova Scotia’s terroir as a crisp, fruit-forward white blend that pairs naturally with seafood and shellfish. It’s about expressing Nova Scotia as a region,” Haverstock said. “But you can’t just say you’re going to make a Tidal Bay wine and throw it on a store shelf. You have to abide by the Tidal Bay standards when making the wine, and every year, samples of your Tidal Bay must be tested and approved by an independent tasting panel, which ensures both typicity of style and quality.”

Tidal Bay wines are crisp, aromatic white blends that must be made from grapes grown entirely within the province, and every vintage of each wine must be approved by an independent tasting panel.

All of the Gaspereau wines, including the Tidal Bay wines, are for sale at the winery boutique. They are also at most of the more than 100 Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation stores and private wine stores in the province. They also sell direct to consumers and have their wines at various licensees and restaurants throughout the province.

It should be noted that Gaspereau was initially planted as a satellite vineyard for Jost. When Gaspereau opened its doors as a winery in 2004, Jost continued to use a portion of the grapes from Gaspereau Vineyard, a practice that continues today. Their grapes are both machine-harvested and hand-harvested, depending on the variety and the block.

Since 2018, much of the equipment, resources and teams have been integrated between the wineries, which is why the Gaspereau team can access more staff and specialized equipment than most wineries of its size. For example, the wineries share a 2022 Gregoire Grape harvester among their estate vineyard sites as well as their contract grape growers. They also have two membrane presses: a Diemme Enologia Velvet 50 hectolitres (hL) initially purchased for Gaspereau, as well as a Bucher Vaslin 100 hL for Jost. “Both presses function well. One is a bit easier to clean and is a bit more intuitive to use, while the other has features for easier loading when whole cluster pressing,” Haverstock said.

The winery has always focused on cool-fermented whites in stainless steel and has concentrated its barrel program on reds. They use both French and Hungarian oak barrels. Oak is used sparingly to enhance the structure and supply subtle aromatics in balance with the fruit, rather than to overpower the cool-climate red style.

In 2024, Haverstock was awarded the Wine Growers Canada Karl Kaiser Winemaker of the Year Award. She is the first female winemaker and the first winemaker outside of British Columbia and Ontario to receive the prestigious annual award, which is named in memory of Karl Kaiser, one of the founders of the modern Canadian wine industry.

“To be associated with such accomplished individuals and to receive an award in memory of Karl Kaiser himself is truly humbling,” Haverstock said. “This award is not just a personal milestone, but a testament to the collaborative spirit and hard work of our entire team.”

The overall company is led by a management team with managers from sales and marketing, winemaking and grape growing, and finance and production that report directly to the Sparkes. The vineyards in the valley (both Mercator and Gaspereau) are managed by vineyard manager Becca Griffin and assistant vineyard manager Andrea Burbidge, with assistance from long-time Jost Vineyard manager Sven VonKintzel and oversight by Yvonne Schoening. They also have several contract grape growers whose grapes supplement the varieties needed for production.

Cellar master and winemaker Dave Beardsall has been with the team for more than 30 years, since 1991. “He is very much in control of the day-to-day operations, including ensuring the wine’s stability every step of the way, through filtration and right up until bottling time,” Haverstock said. Roles are intertwined, and many, including Haverstock, work at the sister wineries, too.

Harvest typically starts around mid-September, something that has shifted due to the warming effects of climate change. “I remember when we didn’t start harvest until after Thanksgiving,” said Haverstock. The 2025 vintage so far has been warm and dry, suggesting harvest may be earlier than usual, except for those areas experiencing drought conditions, which may experience a bit of a delay. “In either case, if the weather holds, we are poised for a stellar 2025 vintage with excellent quality and wines with concentrated flavours,” Haverstock said.

One thing they will be intensely monitoring is the flavour development and the acid reduction in the Tidal Bay blocks. “We want to achieve optimal flavour ripeness balanced by the essential backbone of acidity that is critical for Tidal Bay’s refreshing profile. Tidal Bay wines have a required minimum acid level,” she said. “It’s a balancing act, for sure.”

The company, Carl says, is planning an expansion and reconfiguration of their operations to improve productivity and reduce waste, something that is part of their commitment to sustainability. In the vineyard, they compost all harvest waste, and in the cellar and tasting room, they seek out sustainable supply chains, too. “Sustainability to us means creating balance and resilience to endure the storms, whether they are natural, economic or political,” Carl said.

Being a winery owner or winemaker is never easy, but this past year, the team has seen a resurgence in visitors, as people look to buy regional and locally-made Canadian products. That’s something that the winery team sees as important, too. They source local goods and services where possible, and they support arts, music, health and wellness charities and non-profits in their community. They also contribute to the Nova Scotia Nature Trust, a charitable organization that focuses on land conservation.

“We are part of a great community and support is a two-way street,” Carl said. “While we hope people in the community support local, we do it because it’s the right thing to do.” Supporting Wine Growers Canada is also important to the Gaspereau team. “Wine Growers Canada is the true voice of the industry in Canada. Membership means we get involved in issues that affect the entire industry in Canada and beyond. You gain a broader perspective and reach more than just within the industry in Nova Scotia,” said Carl.

For Haverstock, though, there may be nothing better than seeing her own region thriving. “I’m excited to see more people, tourists and locals alike, enjoy our high-quality wines paired with our province’s top-notch cuisine and delivered with our warm and welcoming hospitality,” she said. “And I’m excited to see the Nova Scotia wine industry continue to grow and prosper.”