York Vineyards' bubbly toasts with Champagne quality
Niagara's first — and only — winery dedicated exclusively to traditional method sparkling wine is an affair of the heart. And the bubbly is heavenly.
Just ask Tony Aspler, the dean of wine writers in Canada. Aspler has been tasting and writing about wine for more than 40 years, so he speaks with authority.
“That portfolio of sparkling wines from York Vineyards is the finest selection of sparkling wines I've tasted in Canada. Quite simply the best,” Aspler said. “It really is remarkable.”
The small winery is nestled into the Niagara Escarpment as it runs along York Road in St. Davids.
Vineyards slope down to the elegant 1818 stone house where owners Marty and Rachael Werner have made their home. The house and surrounding terroir came together, and they knew it was their dream property.
“One day, Rachael said, `I want you to come with me to look at this beautiful home,'” Werner recalled with a grin.
“We got here, and at the time there was no vineyard. There were piles of rocks here, and piles of rocks there, like where, you know, at the time the gardener would just literally pile them up. And so, Rachael's inside trying to get me to look at the home. She's saying, `Look, our daughter can sleep here. And this will be the kitchen.' Meanwhile, I'm outside saying, `Look at all these rocks, tell me more about these rocks.'
“That was pretty funny, pretty funny, but classic. She's inside looking at the historical home, and I'm outside looking at the dirt. Turns out it was a fit for both of us. For sure.”
The property sits right below the old Queenston quarry and nowabandoned lime kilns. Those rocks told Werner he was standing on soil that would grow excellent grapevines.
“When we purchased this, we thought that being in St Davids and having that opportunity of the rare amount of limestone on the property was providing us with some fantastic terroir.”
Werner, an acclaimed winemaker and secondgeneration grape grower in Niagara, turned to his friend Peter Gamble to join him on the venture. Gamble is a highlysoughtafter consultant who has fostered many wineries, from start to success.
“When Marty first approached me,” Gamble said, “he was saying, `Hey, I'd like to do a sparkling house, nothing but sparkling, nothing but traditional method. Really classical, and pushing all the limits.”
Gamble balked at first. He and Werner were both already very busy. But Werner said the idea was just to do some tiny amounts. They could do all the learning, get all the understanding, so when they opened up a decade from now, they'll have wines that have already been aging on the lees for years.
Sparkling wine made in the traditional method has to age on the spent yeast in the bottle, called lees, for at least a year. But Werner and Gamble were planning a long game that would see their wines age much, much longer.
“So, we both thought, OK, that's manageable. We can do that, right? So, we started it with the 2013 harvest,” Gamble said.
Twelve years later, they did a count.
“We ended up doing 135 cuvées over a period of 12 years, tweaking and learning as we went,” Gamble said, with a glimmer of disbelief in his eyes.
The goal was always to produce the very best sparkling wine possible, with no restraints on their decisionmaking along the way.
“Out of the 135 I think we ended up keeping maybe 15 in total, and there are five released. We're able to be super selective. When we're choosing from 135 different cuvées, we were able to release only what we felt was totally top end,” Gamble said.
Those five wines were released in October 2024, when the winery opened in a soft launch. The wines garnered impressive accolades right out of the gate, when they were entered in their first competition.
Three of them won top honours from the prestigious Decanter magazine in September 2024. More than 130 sparkling wines were entered from all over North, Central and South America. York's Reserve Brut earned 96 points in the blind tasting, and its Blanc de Blancs Brut scored 95, both winning the rare ranking of outstanding. Its Rosé Brut was close behind, with 93 points.
“It validates our commitment to producing exceptional sparkling wines that reflect the unique climate and terroir of NiagaraontheLake,” Werner said at the time.
The response from consumers has also been positive.
“It's been amazing to see the reception from the general public, whether among wine enthusiasts or people who just enjoy the fun of it,” said sales and brand manager Adam Blascik.
He said the sparkling wine is a “serious luxury product,” with only 2,000 cases produced each year, and all the wines are aged for five years or more on the lees.
Blascik said York Vineyards aims “to punch above our weight, and bring prestige to the Niagara wine industry, putting a spotlight on other fine winemakers as well.” But quality does come at a cost. “To age wines for that length of time before disgorging them is very expensive,” said Aspler. “These are champagne prices, so they will need to have a dedicated following. But when you compare it to champagne, it's up there. There's no question that the quality is there.”
In keeping with the small lot production, York Vineyards' tasting experience is also exclusive. Werner doesn't aim to draw crowds to the winery.
“We're trying to keep it to small groups of people who are dedicated and interested and want to learn about the wines.”
Tasting reservations are available on Saturdays only.
No need to buy imported sparkling wine for the festive season; this homegrown hits the mark