13 BC Sparkling Wines to fit any budget

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BC sparkling wines have been on a tear with wholesale sales doubling since 2018 and increasing 25% year over year in 2021 and 10% in 2022 (year to date).

BC Wholesale Sparkling Wine Sales ($M)

I have grouped these BC sparkling wines by the winemaking method1 and in order of price. All except one of the recommended wines are from the Okanagan Valley.

Tank Method

Hester Creek Ti Amo 2021($21.99)

Hester Creek Ti Amo with Caprese Salad

Beautifully aromatic, this year’s vintage of our Prosecco-inspired wine is primarily Pinot Gris, complemented by Gewürztraminer and Sémillon. The grapes were grown mainly on the estate and the Vineyard Manager’s neighbouring vineyard on Road 8 and were hand harvested early in the season.

The fruit was carefully sorted, whole-berry pressed, cold settled, and then cool fermented in stainless steel tanks. Following blending, the wine was re-fermented in the Charmat method for a period of 6 weeks and then bottled cold to retain the lively effervescence. A fabulously fresh frizzante crafted to be fruity, floral and fun.

Alcohol: 11.4% / pH 3 / TA 8.63 g/L / RS 18 g/L

One of the best-value BC sparkling wines I have tasted. A gorgeous mouthfeel of soft but persistent bubbles, with aromas of citrus, pears and peaches. A creamy texture and flavours of apple, Bosc pear and lemon. Off-dry but still crisp and refreshing. A wine that should be enjoyed while young.

A quintessential wine for entertaining loved ones. Enjoy the sparkler with cocktails, brunch or desserts.

Evolve Pink EFFERVESCENCE NV ($22.99)

50% Pinot Blanc, 30% Merlot and 20% Chardonnay.  Evolve makes this wine by the Charmat Method, like Prosecco.  The base wine is added together with the sugar and yeast mixture into a large tank.  As the wine has a second fermentation, the carbon dioxide released by the fermentation causes the tank to pressurize.  The wine is then filtered, dosed and bottled without ageing.

Pale pink rose petals in colour.  Aromas of ripe red peach and flavours of watermelon, cherry and strawberries. Gold Medal winner at the All Canadian Wine Championship 2018.

Four Shadows Sparkling Riesling 2020 ($24.99)

Four Shadows Sparkling Riesling

100 cases produced. 11.7% Alcohol, pH 2.9 TA 8.0 g/L, RS 8.6 g/L.

Tropical fruit aromas. Flavours of pineapple, kiwi, mango and green apple. The high acidity and residual sugar balance perfectly with plenty of lively bubbles. The perfect sparkler for the patio or with seafood. 90 Points.

Moraine Shipuchka Frizzante 2020 ($25)

Moraine Shipuchka Frizzante 2019

Shipuchka is our Russian word to describe this sparkling wine. The unique refreshing and beautiful, an effervescent blend of 54% Pinot Auxerrois, 43% Chardonnay, and 3% Gewürztraminer.

The wine explodes with Okanagan orchard flavours, bright acidity and crisp minerality.   A hint of bitterness on the finish makes this a sparkler for mature palates. 90 Points.

A wine with a timeless style made for celebrations.

Black Market Secret Society Frizzante NV ($25.90)

Black Market Secret Society Frizzante NV

“We have been building the base wine for this mysterious Frizzante-style bubbly for three years. All varietals in each vintage were fermented in stainless steel tanks to preserve the freshness of the wine.”

Rob Hammersley, Winemaker

12.2% Alcohol / pH 3.35 / TA 5.4 gm/L/ RS 1.0 gm/L 

A mysterious blend of 5 aromatic white grapes, probably including Pinot Blanc and Bacchus from the estate winery. A really uncluttered, crisp sparkling wine, bursting with floral notes and aromas of orchard fruits. Vibrant and refreshingly dry flavours of green apple, Bosc pear, Key lime and pink grapefruit. Can’t wait for a hot summer day to enjoy this wine again! 91 points

Giant Head Blanc de Noir 2016 ($31.22)

The 2016 Blanc de Noir is made from whole-cluster Pinot Noir grapes. 

A very pleasant sparkler with a beautiful pale copper tint. This dry, crisp wine shows a finesse of texture wrapped in green apple, preserved lemon and vanilla. Good balance and creamy mousse. 91 Points.

The wine was awarded “Best of Category – Charmat Method – Northwest Wine Summit 2016”

Ancestral Method

Sperling Vineyards Organic Speritz Pet Nat ($30)

Refreshing and lovely, wild fermented from Perle de Csaba planted in 1934.

Pét-Nat is short for pétillant naturel, which is simply French for “naturally sparkling” – and that’s essentially what it is! This lightly fizzy wine has gained a bit of buzz lately with growing popularity in the natural/organic movement and in more rudimentary methods of winemaking, but people have been sipping on it for ages.

The perfect sparkling speritz, yeasty, hoppy aromas with rose petal and lemon blossom and mineral undertones.  Unfiltered, so opaque with effervescence. Very pale straw core. On the palate, medium acid, light body flavours of Anjou pear, key lime, and Meyer lemon with minerality and floral notes. Serve well chilled. A refreshing hot day sipper! 10 % Alcohol. 89 Points.

For food pairings try with a charcuterie plate and for beer drinkers fried pub fare, maybe fish and chips.

Traditional Method

Unsworth Cuvée de l’île 2015 ($32.40)

Unsworth Cuvée de l'île 2015 paired wonderfully with garlic prawns and green fried tomatoes with a crab remoulade sauce.

This is an excellent bubbly from Vancouver island. The pinnacle of Unsworth’s sparkling wine collection, Cuvée de l’île is crafted in the traditional method a la Champagne, presenting as a more complex and savoury style.

A blend of Pinot Gris (50%), Pinot Noir (40%) and Auxerrois (10%) from the estate, and from parcels in Glenora and North Cowichan.

After tank and neutral barrel ageing, the wine is lees aged in a bottle for a further 15 months before hand riddling and disgorgement. This is followed by a further 6 months of ageing before release.

Alcohol 12.0% | pH 3.1 |TA 10.5 gm/L| RS zero dosage

A beautifully rich lemon colour with an abundance of bubbles!

A fabulous aroma of ripe apples, lemon blossom, brioche and a hint of minerals. Flavours of Granny Smith apples, Meyer lemon, orange zest, baked bread and a toasty rich mouthfeel and finish. 93 points.

Fitz Brut 2016 ($32.99)

Fitz Brut 2016

66% Chardonnay / 26% Pinot Noir/ 6% Pinot Blanc / 2% Pinot Meunier. Alcohol 11.6% / Residual Sugar 6.3 g/L

Essentially dry, Fitz Brut is the winery’s signature bubbly that is adjusted yearly to reflect “the vintage, the people and the site.”

The bubbly opens with lemon, green apple and toasted bread on the nose. The palate is marzipan, creamy peach and pear with a vibrant finish. Drink now or hold even longer. Fitz Brut spends a minimum of 24 months on its lees. 92 Points

Lightning Rock Elysia Blanc de Noir 2018 ($35)

Lightning Rock Elysia Blanc de Noir 2018 ($35)

One of two traditional method, single-vineyard, Blanc de Noirs released in 2018 by Lightning Rock.

Aromas of lemon candy, ginger, passionfruit and brioche. The palate has high acid, medium body, and bone dry with beautiful fine bubbles. The acid level shines through in this sparkler. Notes of ripe apple, caramel and grapefruit pith with a hint of bitterness on the finish. 93 Points

Township 7 Rigel seven stars 2020 ($39.97)

Sourced from a block of clone 21B riesling at Fool’s Gold Vineyard in North Oliver. The Western sloping vineyard is comprised of sandy clay loam soil, with abundant rocks and gravel, providing excellent drainage.

The fruit was gently pressed and fractioned off to separate tanks for free-run and gently pressed portion. Only the free-run juice was used in the cuvée. The juice was then cold-settled before fermentation in stainless steel. The ferment was cool, enabling the retention of the most delicate fruit aromatics. En tirage was for 12 months prior to disgorging and adding a proprietary dosage, for an expressive, bright and delicious sparkling wine.

12.0% Alcohol | pH 3.1, TA 8.9 g/L, RS 12 g/L | Vegan

Rigel is named for a blue supergiant star in the constellation of Orion and this sparkler does shine. Aromas of lime zest and stone fruit with flavours of lemon, green apple, white peach and biscuit. Beautifully balanced with crisp acidity and a long creamy mineral finish. 93 Points

Noble Ridge ‘The One’ Sparkling 2017 ($39.99)

Okanagan Falls sub-GI designation. 77% Chardonnay / 23% Pinot Noir. The vintage has a higher percentage of Chardonnay – Clones 76 and 95 than the previous vintage. The Pinot Noir Clones are 114, 115 and 777.

Whole-cluster pressed and cool fermented with Méthode traditionnelle and en tirage extended to 47 months.

12.1% Alcohol, pH 3.17, TA 7.5 g/L, RS 2.1 g/L.

This is a Brut Nature champagne-style wine with < 3 gm/L residual sugar.  A clear pale straw/lemon colour with a Brioche aroma and subtle flavours of green apple, Meyer lemon, and toasty notes. A generous texture on the palate with very good length and bubbles that go on forever! The Noble Ridge sparkling wines are very consistent year to year and “2017 The One” is no exception. 94 Points

2022 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada Silver Medal Winner

This traditional sparkling wine is excellent value and was fantastic with seafood.

For tasting notes on previous vintages see – Noble Ridge – Worth a King’s Ransom and Noble Ridge Sparkles.

50th Parallel Estate Blanc de Noir 2018 ($85)

What a fantastic sparkling wine. The excitement starts when you pop the cork!

This cuvée is made by the traditional ‘Methode Champenoise’ using the premium estate Pinot Noir clones 115 and 777, from Block 1.

A gorgeous pale salmon hue.  Aromas of fresh strawberries, rose petals and earthy mushrooms.  Full of luscious butterscotch, ripe apple, and baked pear flavours with a hint of earthy bread. A creamy mousse, dry and refreshing. 93+ Points.

References

  1. How sparkling wine is made?  Wine Folly