Canada has a brand-new wine category. Not a new label, not a new winery, a whole new category with its own rules written into our wine regulations. The first bottles have just arrived in liquor stores.
Who better to help break the latest wine news than Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest wine review site at nataliemaclean.com.
Welcome, Natalie.
Great to be back with you! I’ve spent years explaining other countries’ bubblies. Now I get to tell you about one that’s all ours. Today is pretty much the peak of my career :)
So what exactly is Fracette?
France has Champagne. Italy has Prosecco. Spain has Cava. Canada now has Fracette. It rhymes with cassette. A new wine word that comes with a handy pronunciation tip. How friendly is that?
It’s a dry, vibrant Canadian sparkling wine. The name comes from frozen and facette, a nod to grapes frozen on the vine and to the many facets in the wine. Its complex. It’s a wine that comes from winter: we are the true north!
The word is protected just as Champagne is, which means only a wine made here in this country, in this exact way, is allowed to call itself Fracette. I love that we’ve laid down the law for Canadian bubbles!
Tell us more about how it’s made.
Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking: “Nat, Icewine is sweet, so how can it end up in a dry sparkling wine?”
Great question! Every sparkling wine gets its bubbles the same way. You add a little sugar and yeast to a still wine, then seal it. The second fermentation creates the carbon dioxide, in other words, bubbles.
So instead of using sugar to start that second fermentation, Fracette uses just a splash of icewine. The yeast eats it up and creates these incredible flavours in the wine.
Every bottle finishes under 15 grams of sugar per litre, which puts the whole category at the dry end of the spectrum. You get the depth and flavour of icewine, but not the sweetness.
Let’s pour. What are we starting with?
Inniskillin Fracette Rosé
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
In 1975, Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser were handed the first winery licence issued in Ontario since Prohibition.
They named it for the Inniskilling Fusiliers, the Irish regiment whose colonel farmed that land after the War of 1812. Ontario didn’t issue a winery licence for decades before that one. Nobody has explained that to my satisfaction.
Their first icewine attempt in 1983 went to the birds. Actual birds ate the entire crop. They netted the vines the following winter. That harvest survived.
In 1991, Inniskillin icewine put Canadian wine on the world map when it won the industry’s most prestigious award up against thousands of international wines. Four decades later, a splash of icewine is what starts the bubbles in this bottle.
Feel free to try the Inniskillin Fracette Rosé.
This rosé is made from Cabernet Franc grapes. It has gorgeously ripe raspberry and cranberry aromas, with rhubarb underneath. The bubbles are fine, giving it a silky mouthfeel. A touch of grapefruit on the finish keeps it crisp.
It’s just $34.95, a fraction of the price of Champagne. That’s the kind of math I like!
Inniskillin Fracette is ideal to mark the memorable moments like date night, engagements, birthdays, and special dinners. Wouldn’t this be amazing with cranberry turkey sliders at the kitchen island?
More Pairings
- Niagara cranberry turkey sliders. Shredded roast turkey, still steaming from the pan, piled onto soft buns with cranberries simmered down until they turn glossy and tart. The smell of the roasting pan reaches the deck before the platter does.
- Frost line strawberry and goat cheese salad. Cold sliced strawberries against warm crumbled goat cheese, toasted pecans for crunch, dressed with good oil and a squeeze of lemon. Carry the bowl out to the picnic table while the berries are still chilled.
Tell us about the next one.
Saintly the Good Fracette
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Saintly is a heavenly wine and you don’t need to be a saint to drink it. Lord knows, I’m not. The Chardonnay here came from one grower, Bill George, farming between Vineland and Beamsville in Niagara, only 100 metres from Lake Ontario … yes that’s Lake Ontario (!).
That’s close enough that the lake decides how the fruit ripens. That body of water made an excellent decision this year, resulting in slow ripening for great complexity.
The grapes were picked on September 22nd, and were pressed the same day it reached the winery to preserve freshness. Only the free run juice went into the base wine. Then a small amount of Vidal icewine started the second fermentation that creates the bubbles.
Feel free to try the Saintly the Good Fracette.
Fresh apricot and orange zest on the nose. Then crunchy green apple, nectarine juice and a dried apricot note the icewine leaves behind.
It finishes rich, then snaps back clean. It’s $23.95.
Wouldn’t this be fantastic with lemon roast chicken steaming straight out of the oven?
Saintly The Good Fracette is the bottle to open on a Tuesday, no special reason needed. Tuesday is the reason. Wednesday is as well. Actually, Thursday works too.
More Pairings
- Lakeshore lemon and thyme roast chicken. Skin blistered gold and crackling, lemon halves roasted soft inside, thyme scenting the whole kitchen while the bird rests on the board. Carve it at the patio table.
- Harvest morning pork wellington. Pork loin wrapped in mushrooms cooked down to a dark, earthy paste, sealed in pastry that shatters under the knife. Let it rest before you slice it at the dining table.
And the final one?
Kew Fracette
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Kew Vineyards sits on the Beamsville Bench, an 80-acre estate where some of Niagara’s first Riesling vines were planted. Every vine is still tended by hand, from winter pruning through to picking.
This one uses the three classic grapes of Champagne, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. The icewine going in is Vidal, harvested on the coldest nights of the winter. Somebody is standing in that vineyard at minus eight in January. I thank them for their service.
The 2025 vintage brought a long dry summer with no irrigation. The old roots on that clay went looking for water and dug deep for flavour.
Feel free to try the Kew Fracette.
Apple blossom and nectarine aromas are on the nose, with a note of warm almond pastry. The palate runs to pear, golden apple and peach, all carried on a generous mousse.
Pale gold in the glass, with a lovely swarm of tiny bubbles. It’s $26.95. Wouldn’t this be perfect with smoked salmon on the brunch table?
From planned get-togethers to impromptu events, Kew Fracette is the easy pour to have at hand.
More Pairings
- Beamsville smoked salmon with capers and dill. Cold silky slices draped over warm toast, dotted with salty capers and a spoonful of crème fraîche whipped through with fresh dill. Serve it on the back porch while the coffee is still going.
- Bench top apple and aged cheddar tart. Thin apple slices fanned across puff pastry, sharp cheddar grated over the top, baked until the edges caramelize and the butter smell fills the room. Cut it into squares at the kitchen counter.
If someone’s heading to the store today, what should they look for?
The word Fracette on the front label. That’s the key. It’s a protected term now, the same way Champagne is. No one else can use it.
Serve it at 8 degrees rather than ice cold. Eight degrees is oddly specific, but worth it. Cold hides the fruit the icewine put there.
Skip the flute too. Flutes are a gift you receive. They’re not a choice you make if you want pleasure. A white wine glass lets those gorgeous aromas come forward instead of trapping them.
Sparkling isn’t a fancy occasion drink anymore. Ten million Canadians pour it regularly.
Natalie, these suggestions are fantastic! Any final words of wisdom for our viewers?
Let’s toast to a truly Canadian bubbly sparked by ice. Only the Icewine capital of the world could have invented it!
Thank you, Natalie! Where can we find you and these wines online?
On Instagram, I’m at @NatalieMacLeanWine and online, my website is nataliemaclean.com. Come for the bubbles, stay for the backstory.
Posted with permission of Citytv’s Breakfast Television. Please drink responsibly.
