Among the first decisions Dara Gordon and Gerry McConnell made when they purchased the Gaspereau Valley parcel that became Benjamin Bridge was that they would plant Sauvignon Blanc.
That was because they’d fallen in love with the varietal on travels to France and South Africa, not because anyone else thought it was a good idea.
“‘You should rip it out,’ is what people would say. But we’d say we’re going to work with this, we’re going to baby it, give it all the care it requires. Others said it was crazy what we were doing,” remembers McConnell. “The challenge in growing Sauvignon Blanc is that it doesn’t understand winter, which is why one year all our vines were covered with special blankets for the winter.”
From grapes planted in 2000, the first Benjamin Bridge vintage of Sauvignon Blanc was released in 2005, though only 40-60 bottles were made.
“People said, ‘You can’t grow those grapes here,’ but once they tasted it, they were won over, even if they didn’t know much about wine,” McConnell said. “It was different - different from anything else we had - and I loved that. Unique.”
When Gordon passed in 2010, McConnell became, if anything, even more determined to continue making his wife’s favourite wine. And he did, successfully, until the polar vortex of 2023 finally put an end to an almost a quarter-century passion project, with the final vintage of Sauvignon Blanc being the ’22.
“When people don’t think something can be successful, that gives me a challenge to show people that it’s very special, and I’m not deterred at all about anything,” he said. “That sounds kind of boastful, but that is the way I’ve lived my life.”
The first planting of Sauvignon Blanc predated the arrival at Benjamin Bridge of long-time head winemaker Jean-Benoit Deslauriers, but he soon developed an appreciation of McConnell’s “swing for the fences” approach to the business.
“A winery was coming to life, a vineyard was coming to life, and Sauvignon Blanc was Dara’s favourite wine. And although the climatic data maybe did not point to Sauvignon Blanc as a match made in heaven, or a natural fit, because of the affection and appreciation of it, they did take that risk,” Deslauriers said. “There is a profound difference between a viticultural decision made at the present time and one made in 2000-2001, which is when our Sauvignon Blanc was planted in Gaspereau. Even today it would be a bold decision, but at the time the climate was very different, with the distinct possibility of winter damage due to temperatures going below minus 20.”
At the time, it was the only planting of Sauvignon Blanc in the province, originally just over an acre, eventually growing to four acres comprising both estate and contract grapes.
With the ’05 vintage as a “stylistic reference point,” Deslauriers’ winemaking benefited from vines that channelled concentrated energy into small yields.
“I feel like some of the vintages are really extraordinary,” he said, describing the final product as dry, aromatic, and approachable.
