Canadian Sparkling Wines at #tinybubbles

So I kicked off my birthday in style today with #tinybubbles, a tasting of sparkling wines from across Canada, including lots of Ontario choices, rare east-coast wines like Benjamin Bridge, and a selection of Okanagan bottles from Sumac Ridge and See Ya Later. One glance at the cork litter tells you that this was a great event (organized by Suresh Doss of Spotlight Toronto and wine writer Rick Van Sickle as part of an occasional ongoing series of events designed to raise awareness and appreciation of Canadian wines).

It was especially pleasant for me to have another go at the Sumac Ridge wines, which I tried last summer when I was out there. Their Stellar's Jay Brut is very popular in B.C. It got its name around 1989 when Stellar's Jay was designated as the provincial bird. It's a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot blanc, and has a gorgeous pale peachy pink-gold colour and a bready nose. Its bubbles are gently frothy, and the taste is apple. You can get it for $24.95 at LCBO in Ontario, which is a bargain sparkle, as far as I'm concerned.

Sadly not available here is their delicious Sparkling Rosé, which is a bright ruby peach with a sharp fizz of bubbles and a brilliant strawberry taste.

If you look carefully at this picture you can get a sense of the ambiance: we were at Canoe on the 54th floor of the TD Centre, with the southern portion of the downtown core and Lake Ontario arrayed below us on a sparkling spring day. Look very, very closely and you can even see the CN Tower!

I managed to miss the $100-a-bottle Benjamin Bridge, which many people declared as their favourite of the morning. However, there were lots of other standouts for me, including (in no particular order):

• Chateau des Charmes Sparkling Wine (traditional method), a very pale pinot noir-chardonnay blend with a faintly pink-bubblegum apple scent and a nice light fruity taste ($22.95 at LCBO)
• Hillebrand Showcase Sparkling Riesling 2006, a pale green-yellow with an olive-oil scent, a pleasant petroleum taste and small sharp bubbles
• Secco from Pelée Island, a very pale yellow wine that reminds me of birthday cake, with a gentle pineapple-syrup scent and a taste like strawberries coated in icing sugar ($15.95 at LCBO)

Or maybe I'm just anticipating my birthday dinner tonight, to which I must run!

...postscript after a lovely family dinner at Il Fornello: There were lots more wonderful wines to talk about. It just shows that you don't need to go to France to find a delightful sparkling wine. There are plenty in Canada.