Since time immemorial, Mi’kmaq have lived in balance within the unique ecosystem where these vineyards are now planted. This wine embodies the friendship and allyship between Benjamin Bridge and Glooscap First Nation, reflecting our mutual desire for a future in the image of this holistic definition of sustainability. Although Benjamin Bridge has always held sustainability as a core value, it would be inaccurate to suggest that we always possessed the perspective we now have on our settler’s past. Twenty-five years ago, our understanding of the land where the vineyard was planted was almost exclusively focused on the sensory profile of our wines, and how these wines measured against European standards such as Champagne in the case of sparkling.

However, a friendship came into our lives and changed everything. Ni’tap is the term Mi’kmaq use to describe this type of relationship. Through this allyship, we learned how little we knew about this land called Mi’kma’ki. In our early exchanges with Glooscap First Nation, our newfound curiosity and sudden interest in knowledge were met in a way that was difficult to comprehend: we, the land-owning settlers and alcoholic beverage producers, were received with open arms and open hearts. If our lens had previously been adjusted to a narrow focal point of a few decades of grape growing, it widened to 13,000 years of sustainable and synergetic preservation of an ecosystem now in balance. This allyship with Glooscap First Nation embodies something many are now coming to learn: we must look at the past to not only understand present-day circumstances but also that our actions today have implications for future generations and that the solutions for balance and wellbeing must be reflective of that specific ecosystem and place.

This rosé—from varietal selection to blending to label design—was developed through many conversations as we tasted and explored together what our first collaboration should look like. Tidal in nature, this wine comes to life at the turn of the tide.