With Canada Day on Thursday, we’re obviously going to focus on Canadian Wines this week at the Byward Wine Market. Unfortunately with the holiday closure couriers will be closed and direct deliveries are delayed until Friday, so any Lifford or winery-direct orders won’t make it for Canada Day…But we are all stocked up with some Canadian beauties at the shop! Come by and make up a nice mixed case of some of our best wines from Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia!

A couple months ago we did a whole feature on Canadian wine, it’s diverse terroir, and why it’s so special. To spare repeating all that again, you can click this link if you missed it. In addition to that context for why Canadian wine is so good, here’s a few highlights we’re featuring at the shop this week for all your celebration and BBQ needs.

SPARKLING

Away on vacation in BC for Canada Day, the only bottle I managed to bring for a shot!

TAWSE WINERY, ‘Spark’ Blend, 2016, VQA Niagara Peninsula
$28 per bottle at Byward Wine Market
Tawse was the 2nd biodynamic winery in Canada and has been awarded “Winery of the Year” 4 or 5 times at the National Wine Awards. In short, they’re one of Canada’s finest wineries, and also one of the greenest as early biodynamic pioneers. This “Spark” blend is a traditional, champagne method bubbly that blends 44% Pinot Gris, 31% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay. And someone may say: “…but Pinot Gris isn’t a traditional Champagne grape!”, right? Fun fact, there are actually 7 allowable grapes in Champagne. Not just the usual Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier that are most common. Also allowed are Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier and Arbane, but together they make up less than 3% of plantings in the region. So they’re rare, but legit! Tasting note from Tawse: “Having spent 12 months on the lees, this off-dry wine displays hints of brioche, melon, pear and honeysuckle aromas. The palate is clean with crisp acidity that is balanced by flavours of peach, melon, green apple, fresh bread and a fine and elegant mousse.”

BENJAMIN BRIDGE, ‘Nova 7’ 2020, Gaspreau Valley, Nova Scotia
$12 per 250ml can at Byward Wine Market
Benjamin Bridge was founded in 1999 in an attempt to see if top-tier sparkling wine was possible in Canada. Founders Gerry McConnel and Dara Gordon worked with various consultants from Niagara and Champagne and hired winemaker Jean-Benoit Deslaurier to oversee their winemaking and viticulture. Everything is organic, wild yeast fermented and low intervention. Some cuvees also see no sulphate additions, being entirely natural. This is the biggest selling wine in all of Nova Scotia. It’s a cultural phenomenon. Best way to describe it is a lightly sparkling (frizzante) Canadian version of Moscato D’Asti. As a Muscat blend, it is quite sweet, but the super fresh acidity from the cool climate keeps the wine drinking really crisp and fresh. Notes of citrus, flowers, ripe and gushing peaches and apricots. An ultimate patio-pounder, and also a fantastic pairing with snacks, seafood, and even fresh deserts like sorbet. And we just started bringing these in can formats for easier Covid picnics, camping, or fancy tailgating.

WHITE

REDSTONE WINERY, Semillon, 2019, VQA Niagara Peninsula
$23 per bottle at Byward Wine Market
Redstone is the sister winery to Tawse, just outside of Beamsville in Niagara. They take a similar organic farming philosophy to Tawse and also work with several varietals that Tawse does not. Like in this case, Semillon! If you’re not familiar, Semillon’s home is in Bordeaux. It’s one of the two allowable grapes in Bordeaux white wines, along with Sauvignon Blanc. However it’s usually a blend in Bordeaux. It’s more rare to find 100% Semillon in Bordeaux whites. But 100% Semillon really found a niche home in Australia. Lot’s of really cool examples of straight Sem in the Hunter Valley and other parts of South East Australia. The Redstone version stylistically falls somewhere between the two. Fresh, mineral, apricot, white peach, touch of citrus and honeysuckle.

BACHELDER, “Mineralité” Chardonnay, VQA Niagara Peninsula
$26 per bottle at Byward Wine Market
First of all, Thomas Bachelder is a Canadian Winemaking national treasure. Not only a really great guy but one of the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers in all of North America. With vast winemaking experience in Burgundy and Oregon he settled back in his native Canada to start Le Clos Jordanne years ago, then eventually left to partner with his wife Mary on their own Bachelder label. This Chardonnay, as the name suggests, is minerally. This comes from the dolometic limestone bench of the Niagara escarpment that most of the region’s grapes are grown on. It’s not your classic California Chardonnay that’s rich and buttery, it’s much more Burgundian: elegant, layered and mineral. Notes of baked apple, brioche, preserved lemon and sea salt. Great wine for white meats and fish on the BBQ or fresh oysters!

RED

BACHELDER, “Parfum Pinot Noir, VQA Niagara Peninsula
$26 per bottle at Byward Wine Market
Thomas is so great, we had to mention his wines twice! The companion to the Mineralité Chardonnay is the Parfum Pinot Noir. Once reserved for restaurants-only in the before-times, this is an incredible value to be able to pick up at the shop. The Parfum Pinot Noir is a blend of several top vineyards in Niagara that could be almost considered Grand Crus of the region, like Wismer, Foxcroft, and Saunders. This as the name suggests, this Pinot Noir focuses on the more elegegant, pretty, floral and perfumed aspects of Pinot Noir. Sure there are still hints of earth and a nice electic minerality that races through the palate with the nice acidity, but this is meant to showcase the pretty side of Pinot in Ontario.

POPLAR GROVE, CSM, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
$44 per bottle at Byward Wine Market
New to the shop just in time for Canada Day is one of the original wineries on the Naramata Bench, one of the Okanagan Valley’s top appellations. Founded in 1993, they’re located just outside the town of Penticton and farm about 140 acres as a family winery. They don’t share the exact blend in this wine, but it’s a comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and Merlot. Most of it coming from Osoyoos and a bit from their home estate in Naramata. Whereas Pinot Noir by folks like Bachelder or Tawse is a great example of what Ontario does best with reds, but big, bold, red blends like this are what BC does best. A great bottle to crack open for any Canada Day BBQ’s with some meat on the grill. Here’s the winery’s tasting note: The CSM blend has upfront aromas of white pepper and blueberry with undertones of sage. Flavours of cranberry and cherry with notes of red plum and vanilla on the finish. A full-bodied mouthfeel and balanced bright acidity make this a lively wine. Pair with roasted vegetable dishes in winter or grilled lamb with tarragon in summer.

These are just a few of the great Canadian bottles we have for you at the shop. We’ve got more sparkling, interesting whites from Ontario and big reds from BC, so swing by and get stocked up for your celebrations!

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The Byward Wine Market is fully open for in person shopping, as well as online orders offering curbside pickup or local delivery within Ottawa. And just a reminder that the order deadline for Friday case deliveries is Wednesday before 9:00am. Reach out if you have any questions, and check out the archive of past FEATURES if you’re interested in other recommendations. Lastly, please feel free to forward this to anyone in Ontario who may be interested in home wine delivery and follow us on Instagram for daily wine content at @bywardwinemarket!