In Niagara (10) York Vineyards, an exciting new sparkling wine specialist

It’s often said that if you want to make traditional-method sparkling wine well, you have to specialise in it. And in York Vineyards, we have Canada’s first sparkling wine specialist focusing solely on traditional method fizz. [Benjamin Bridge and Lightfoot & Wolfville in Nova Scotia, and Hinterland in Prince Edward County are also sparkling specialists, but they make other things too; and Bella in the Okanagan just makes sparkling, but not only traditional method.]

Marty and Peter

This is a brand new project, and it’s headed up by Marty Werner, who was previously winemaker at Ravine, with Peter Gamble acting as a consultant winemaker. The tasting room was just about to enter as I visited, and the sign was going up. But with traditional method, there are many years of planning before the first wine is made, and in this case the first base wines were made back in 2011.

The new tasting room is on a property that Marty and his wife Rachael purchased in 2016 in St David’s Bench, just below the escarpment, and they planted the 20 acre site the following spring. These grapes will be in the York wines, but the initial releases are sourced from Lakestone Road, the property of Marty’s parents who are grape growers. The new York vineyard has one acre of Gamay, plus Chardonnay, Aligoté and Pinot Noir. Behind the property is a limestone quarry, and some of the big stones that were cleared when the vineyard was planted are piled up together.

Eden Garry, Marty Werner, Rachael Werner and Peter Gamble in the tasting room of York

So this is a project many years in the making, and without having access to grapes and a place to store wines in his parents’ barn, it would have been cost prohibitive. ‘It’s an expensive proposition,’ says Peter Gamble. ‘Everyone came into it understanding the nature of it, and not in a rush. It’s also a lot of fun.’

Along the way, Marty had a lot of places to declassify wines that weren’t quite right to, so they were able to do small projects using different sections of vineyards.

They have Pinot Gris from Lake Lodge Farms (from Marty’s parent’s farm). ‘I really enjoy the numbers on Pinot Gris for sparkling wine harvest,’ says Marty. ‘17/18 Brix, very clean, 10 g/l TA.’ But on the lees it comes across too fruity long term so they decided not to plant it coming to the estate.

The base wines are all wild ferments, but they will boost with cultured yeast if they need to. For the Chardonnay and Pinot they are looking to have two years on lees in puncheons before bottling to develop some character.

‘Marty and I both like autolytic and reductive contributions, but held within the context of good acidity, to allow it to age well,’ says Peter. ‘Stylistically this is a spot we like,’ says Peter of the 2013 Blanc de Blancs.

THE WINES

York Vineyards Rosé NV Niagara on the Lake, Canada
2017 but not labelled with the vintage. 6 g/l residual sugar. Barrel fermented. Full pink/orange colour. Bright and lively with lovely cherry and plum notes as well as keen citrus. Lovely intensity with crystalline quality on the finish. There’s a faint hint of toast and some lively minerality. This finishes with a spicy, savoury twist. Very fine. 93/100 ($85 retail)

York Vineyards Brut Nature NV Niagara on the Lake, Canada
2017, no dosage, but 4 g/l residual sugar. 100% Pinot Gris fermented and aged in 500 litres and amphora, and the balance in stainless. Wonderful aromatics of spice and honey with some marmalade. The palate is powerful and intense with bright citrus (mandarin and lime), and there’s good acidity. Lively with some marmalade on the finish. So distinctive: very rich and bold. So distinctive and bold, and really complex. 93/100 ($95)

York Vineyards Brut NV Niagara on the Lake, Canada
12% alcohol. 2018 vintage, 100% Pinot Gris. 8 g/rs. 500 litres and an amphora, and stainless steel. Lively, bright and exotically fruity with nice precision to the citrus and pear fruit. Juicy and tangy with bright lemons and mandarins. There’s some fruit brightness here but also a lovely spicy frill. Bright and expressive. 92/100 ($65)

York Vineyards Reserve Brut NV Niagara on the Lake, Canada
4 g/l residual sugar. 66% Chardonnay from 13, 14, 15 and 16, and 34% Pinot Noir of 2017, fermented in neutral puncheons. Lovely toast and honey detail on the nose. Complex, finely spiced palate with some savoury, buscuitty detail and nice keen acidity. Such complexity and precision on the finish. A serious effort with great depth of flavour. Grippy, too. 94/100 ($120)

York Vineyards Blanc de Blancs NV Niagara on the Lake, Canada
12% alcohol. 2013, no dosage, residual sugar 0.63 g/litre. 100% Chardonnay, one puncheon, second use. On lees for 102 months. Very fine, refined toasty nose. Fine toastiness. Bright with some lemon and pear and a touch of apple. There’s a bit of creaminess underneath and lovely precison and purpose. Delicate with some nice intensity to the linear citrus fruit. Tart finish, but with real detail. 94/100 ($160)