Beyond Terroir 2023 | Sept 30

Chief Sidney Peters of Glooscap First Nation will provide opening remarks to guests as they are greeted by Mi’kmaq dancers and drummers. Small groups of guests will walk the south-facing slopes of the Valley to three stations, each hosted by a guest speaker. This year’s speakers will be Mi'kmaq knowledge holders from around Mi'kma'ki who will speak on a loose theme of 'land first'. 

Each station will also feature small-plate creations paired with a wine and/or zero-proof beverage, incorporating traditional foods led by Benjamin Bridge’s culinary manager, Kyla Welton in collaboration with student volunteers from NSCC’s culinary program.  Guests will then rejoin to enjoy foraged tea and closing remarks by Lorraine Whitman, President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

This annual event will delve into the essential Mi’kmaq teachings around Netukulimk – a powerful and complex concept and way of life, that speaks to sustainable lifeways in connection to our natural world and in our relationships with each other.

Event profits will go directly to Glooscap First Nation to support youth activities in the community. 

The idea for Beyond Terroir began several years ago, when lifelong friend of Benjamin Bridge, Zabrina Whitman of Glooscap First Nation, and head winemaker Jean-Benoit Deslauriers, had a conversation around the absence of Indigenous voices and culture in present day dialogue on food and wine. To discuss the concept of "terroir" in our winemaking requires the knowledge of the first peoples who have lived on the land since time immemorial and who have managed resources of the Gaspereau Valley long before there were vineyards or farms of any sort.