Pelee Island Ecco VQA

LCBO#: 225946
Price: $14.95
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Pelee Island Winery

This Canadian bubbly seems like a blend of Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois. Big orange nose at first, but when this calms down, the yeast mixes with the grapes to give this a fancy cheese hint. The taste has this little unbalacement with the yeast and fruity notes. The mouthfeel has a sharpness to it, almost bitter in the middle. The dryness is medium with all of this. Becomes a little too sweet with time. Bottle labels are fun and in a party mode at least.

Rating: 2.8/5

Cygnus Organic Brut Nature Cava

LCBO#: 352856
Price: $16.95
Made in: Barcelona, Spain
By: U Mes U Fan Tres

This Spanish Organic Sparkling available in the Vintages section at the LCBO, is composed of Parellada, Macabeo and Xarel-lo varietals. Fruity aromas of apples and pears. The taste is more on the sour side of things. Less fruity in the mouth, but some of the grapes. Tarty mouthfeel, but not much almonds notes from the yeast. Pretty good overall, kind of forgetting this is an organic wine. Vell worth the price. 

Rating: 3.7/5

Villa Sandi Prosecco

LCBO#: 194191
Price: $9.45
Made in: Italy
By: Villa Sandi SPA

This Italian Prosecco has mild fruity aromas with grapes, apples and pears. The taste is also fruity with more of the apples, but the finish is short. Nutty yeast lingers. A decent dryness gets better with time. Quite easy to drink this one with no big faults. Just a tad mild all-around. Some light sweetness, sourness. Really good for the price, as an entry level bubbly.

Rating: 3.6/5

Zonin Prosecco Cuvée 1821 Brut

LCBO#: 277186
Price: $14.95
Made in: Italy
By: Casa Vinicola Zonin SPA

Fresh mild apple aromas that are not too sweet, nor too sour, with light sugars or sweet yeast balancing things. The same for flavours, mild apples with a short finish. A little dryness, and not syrupy at all. Very easy to drink as pretty refreshing, with hints of citrus. Nothing special other than that, but nice for bubbly starters.

Rating: 2.8/5

Trapiche Extra Brut

LCBO#: 262261
Price: $12.95
Made in: Argentina
By: Penaflor/Trapiche

This Argentinian Sparkling blends very well Chardonnay, Semillon and Malbec grapes. Yeasty nose at first, but the grapes come out with hints of apples. The mouthfeel is dry, but not extreme. Flavours are even milder, but much of the same as the aromas. Finish is short. All-in-all, this is a great Sparkling for the price. Classy looking bottle, light sourness in the mouth. Yep, we would buy more of this, anytime.

Rating: 3.8/5

Val d’Oca Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Brut

LCBO#: 340570
Price: $17.50
Made in: Veneto, Italy
By: Cantina Sociale Valdobbiadene
Year: 2015

This Italian Sparkling wine is always a good one to get at the LCBO. Brunello Imports makes it easy to get this in Ontario. Aromas are sweet and fruity with apples and hints of pears. Thankfully, the taste is not as sweet. Just fruitiness with some decent dryness. Yeast lingers on the tongue. This bubbly is nothing too crazy, too out of this world… but very well-balanced overall.

Rating: 3.6/5

Henkell Blanc de blancs

LCBO#: 463349
Price: $12.20
Made in: Rheingau, Germany
By: Henkell & Sohnlein Sektkellereien

Nice white bottle, which is quite different from their popular Sparkling green bottle. This inexpensive German one is typical of this brand. Nothing fancy, easy to drink. Aromas of pear, apple and honey, so fruity and sweet. The taste has this sweetness and very mild dryness in the finish. Light yeast lingers. Nothing crazy offensive, but not a classy bubbly.

Rating: 2.7/5