Niagara’s sparkling wines are on top of the world

By Jill Troyer for The St. Catharines Standard

What does it look like when a wine category comes into its own?

In Jill Troyer’s latest column for the St. Catharines Standard, the answer is in the glass. Drawing in part on this year’s i4C School of Cool, she explores why Canadian traditional-method sparkling wine may be reaching an important moment – one built on years of accumulated knowledge, collaboration and increasingly confident winemaking.

At the centre of the story is Christopher Waters’ observation that Canada has long had the natural advantages for serious sparkling wine, particularly the bright acidity that comes with cool climate viticulture. What has changed is experience. More than a decade of shared learning among producers is now showing up in wines with longer lees aging, greater complexity and a clearer expression of place.

Troyer makes the case that Niagara sparkling is no longer an emerging curiosity. It is becoming an increasingly important expression of what this region does exceptionally well.

The Standard’s subscribers can read more.

Photo from the School of Cool, July 16, 2026. From left on the panel: Alex Baines, Hidden Bench; David Patterson, Tantalus; Dan Sullivan, Rosehall Run; Dean Stoyka, Stratus; Ilya Senchuk, Leaning Post; Emma Garner, Trius; Shiraz Mottiar, Malivoire; Philip Brown, Kew; and panel moderator Christopher Waters, at the podium. Photo by Alina Zherdeva.