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Photo credit: Theresa Arzadon-Labajo, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\nAt a sparkling wine tasting in Ontario it was suggested that Canadian bubbles have reached \u201ca critical moment\u201d, akin to when rock band Nirvana released its pivotal Nevermind album. Sarah Neish reports.<\/p>\n
Photo credit: Theresa Arzadon-Labajo, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n
During the 16th annual International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C), which took place in Niagara from 16 to 19 July, Canadian wine writer Christopher Waters argued that the nation\u2019s sparkling wine offering is on the cusp of revolution.<\/p>\n
\u201cSparkling wine is about to crest,\u201d he said, comparing Canada\u2019s fizz scene in 2026 to the defining moment when Nirvana released its renowned album Nevermind in September 1991. The record turned the underground act into global superstars overnight, with breakout single Smells Like Teen Spirit dominating MTV and radio airwaves for months.<\/p>\n
According to Waters, \u201cwe\u2019ve always had everything we need to make sparkling wine. We have the climate, we have the grapes in the ground. What we haven\u2019t had up to now is that knowledge transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Canadian wine industry as a whole, he added \u201cis predicated on adopting best practices from around the world and adopting them to make sense here.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is now happening, with Canadian producers \u201cstarting to take the reins and steer it [sparkling wine] in the cellar more, building texture and style.\u201d<\/p>\n
New wave success<\/p>\n
Much of this new wave of success can be attributed to Canada\u2019s escalating prowess with Chardonnay. While the variety \u201cdidn\u2019t used to be spoken about as loudly or as fully,\u201d Waters said, \u201cChardonnay is now something we can hang our hat on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The size of Canada and the country\u2019s rich spread of different climates and terroirs means that Canadian sparkling wine is also stylistically diverse, evidenced by a number of Blanc de Blancs included in the tasting, hailing from Prince Edward County, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Beamsville Bench in Ontario, to Kelowna in British Columbia. From distinctive matchstick and flint characteristics to sweeter lemon biscotti notes and rounded Brioche, the wines whispered of the unique corners they come from.<\/p>\n
Other producers have borrowed elements from renowned winemaking regions across the ocean and made them their own, such as Tantalus Vineyards in BC, which uses exclusively Champagne yeast in its sparkling wines after winemaker David Paterson paid a visit to the French region \u201cto try and find the style we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Work in progress<\/p>\n
Is Canada a great sparkling wine nation? \u201cI think we are a work in progress. It\u2019s heading in that direction and we will get there,\u201d said Waters, who claimed that five or six years from now a sparkling wine tasting featuring expressions from all across Canada would prove electric.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you don\u2019t actually have dirt under your fingernails and are not making Canadian sparkling wine then your duty is to drink it, celebrate it, and support it,\u201d he added, because \u201cthis work will go away if people don\u2019t support it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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