Stratus Field Blend Ancestral Sparkling Wine 2022

This is a wine that was envisioned by Stoyka after a trip with other winemakers to Italy, where field blends are part of the winemaking tradition. Stoyka wanted to gather up a variety of grapes from the estate, pick them all at once, press them and vinify using the oldest sparkling method in the world, predating the methode traditionelle, a naturally paused fermentation that restarts in spring to complete the ‘bubbly’ effect in the bottle. This is finished in a crown cap and left undisgorged while the lees remain in bottle and contribute texture and an intriguing hazy hue. The three grapes – Riesling, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc – need to be separated before joining together because VQA does not allow unidentified ‘field blends,’ and therefore each variety needs to be weighed and the information sent to the authority for approval. So, a lot of work for such a fun and simple, lightly effervescent bubbly wine. There is nothing funky about this, it’s fresh, bright, enticing and intriguing with a lovely nose of bright lemon, white peach, nectarine, kiwi, and passionfruit. It’s absolutely delicious on the palate, so bright and cheery with a soft, tickling bubble and firm vein of acidity on the finessed finish tying all those flavours above into a neat little bow. At 11% abv, flip the cap and pour in whatever glass you have handy and enjoy! Score – 92. (Rick VanSickle, winesinniagara.com, May 16, 2023)