Sister winery See Ya Later Ranch, located on Hawthorne Mountain in the southern Okanagan Valley, produces only one sparkling wine, SYL Brut ($23), which makes a very fine dry aperitif. Nearby Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars makes wines that are available only in British Columbia and a few high-end Alberta restaurants, as production is small but of exceptional quality. First, look for Gold Label Brut ($24), a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, with delicate nuances of apple and lemon. Blue Mountain also makes vintage bubblies -- I recently tasted R.D. 2000 Blanc de Blanc Brut and R.D. 2001 Reserve Brut ($35 each) -- but these tend to sell out quickly.
In the central part of the valley, Summerhill Pyramid Winery offers the largest menu of sparkling wines, including Cipes Brut ($25), Pinot Noir Brut ($29), Blanc de Noir ($35) and Gabriel ($45), and the unique Cipes Ice ($45), which contains a small amount of icewine as a sweetener. These wines are produced from organically grown grapes and are aged in a pyramid-shape cellar, which owner Stephen Cipes believes gives them a unique character and smoothness.
In Ontario, Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery in the Niagara Peninsula has built a reputation for quality production with all of its brands. However, for me, their fine bubblies, like Cuvée Catharine Brut and Brut Rosé ($30 each), are without a doubt the flagship.
Nova Scotia's oldest winemaking family, the Josts, own Jost Vineyards, where the small production of sparkling wine is still carried out with modern carbonation. The flavourful signature grape, L'Acadie Blanc, is the basis for Prost ($18) -- the biggest and bestselling locally produced bubbly.
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