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It was Christmas Eve when news of Oscar Peterson's passing on Dec. 23 reached my house. Friends who had popped over for some potable cheer conveyed the uncheery news.

How do you mark the end of a such a full and laudable life? Not a bad way, we all thought, would be with a toast. As a jazz fan and wine lover, I figured the nationality of the wine in this case mattered. It had to be Canadian.

The Montreal-born piano legend, who died at the age of 82, was fiercely proud of this country. He could have settled in the more lucrative jazz hotbeds of New York or Los Angeles, but chose to call Mississauga home.

I had an imported bubbly chilling in the fridge, but I knew I could do better in terms of symbolism. Also, I secretly liked the idea of seizing the nationalist sentiment to introduce friends to an underrated wine category, Canadian sparkling wine.

Out came the ice bucket and a bottle from my back room, Jackson-Triggs Proprietors' Grand Reserve Methode Classique sparkling wine.

I have long been a fan of the wine, which costs about $25 when it's available (alas, not currently in liquor stores, but there are smatterings at independent Wine Rack stores in Ontario and at the winery boutique). A brainchild of winery founders Allan Jackson and Donald Triggs before the Jackson-Triggs winery and its parent, Vincor, were taken over by U.S. giant Constellation Brands. Those two guys had the smarts to realize, along with a handful of small competitors in both Niagara and British Columbia, that cool-climate Canada has ideal spots to produce sparkling wines with a serious chance of rivalling those of the hallowed Champagne region in northern France. (Stay tuned for some promising bubblies from Nova Scotia in coming years too.)

One of those smaller competitors is Henry of Pelham, a 20-year-old family estate in St. Catharines, Ont. Run by the Speck family, it produces a broad range of consistently good still wines, but one of the winery's standouts in recent years has been its high-end, bottle-fermented dry sparkling wine called Cuvée Catharine Brut.

Canadian sparkling wine has come a long way since the early 1970s, when a sweet, two-buck Canuck called Baby Duck ruled the liquor-store shelves. That so-called "pop wine," which is still on the shelves, gets its fizz from an industrial carbonation method. Not so Cuvée Catharine.

Like most Canadian producers of quality sparkling wine these days, Henry of Pelham employs the manual and very labour-intensive champagne method.

It involves inducing a second fermentation inside the bottle, whereby a dose of yeast and sugar is added to the still wine and the bottle capped to create a pressure seal. The yeast feeds off the sugar to yield carbon dioxide. Under pressure, the carbon remains dissolved.

Once the bottle is sealed, the liquid carbon dioxide turns to gas, frothing up in the form of super-fine bubbles. Soda pop, which is by contrast artificially injected with carbon dioxide, produces bigger, more sudsy and less elegant bubbles.

I would argue that sparkling wine stands the greatest chance of becoming Canada's second act on the world wine stage, after winter-harvested icewine (more on that as I report from British Columbia in coming weeks).

Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Brut from Niagara ($29.70, product No. 616441) is not cheap, to be sure. But here's my thinking: It's less than half the price of Veuve Clicquot champagne and more than half as good. Bone-dry, full-flavoured and remarkably complex, the current release is brimming with luscious pineapple- and orange-like fruit, a hint of raw bread dough and fine, persistent bubbles.

The finish is long and lemony. It's also available in Manitoba for $35.03. Also look for its very good pink sibling, Cuvée Catharine Brut Rosé ($29.70, No. 004051).

Out of British Columbia, the standard bearer is Sumac Ridge Pinnacle 2001 sparkling wine ($35). Again, this one's not cheap, but it's a serious bubbly. Made from 100-per-cent pinot noir, it's bone-dry and comes across with notes of green apple, ginger, candied orange, minerals and a subtle, whisky-like essence. The long finish resolves with tongue-tingling apple-skin bitterness and a hint of roasted almond. Released last month, it's available at the winery, 20 minutes north of Penticton, and select B.C. liquor stores.

Also available in limited quantities only in British Columbia is Gray Monk Odyssey Rose Brut ($26.99), an unusual blend of gamay (the red grape of Beaujolais) with pinot meunier (one of the three Champagne grapes). Quite creamy and zesty, it's a good partner for a wide range of foods, including smoked salmon.

Another very nice Niagara sparkler just released in Ontario is Château des Charmes Méthode Tradition Brut ($22.75, No. 207944). Light and racy, it offers up a bracing blast of citrus and minerals.

For those interested in Canada's already-established export product, here are a few icewine highlights, in order of preference, from recent tastings.

Henry of Pelham Riesling Icewine 2006 ($54.50/375 millilitres, No. 430561) is impeccably balanced, offering up intense flavours of baked apple, peach and apricot with a firm jolt of acidity.

And equally strong standout is Inniskillin Vidal Icewine 2005 ($54.50/375 ml, No. 551085). Also nicely balanced between sweetness and acidity, it shows flavours of canned apricot and honey in a silky frame.

An inviting, intense flavour of orange marmalade dominates Lakeview Cellars Vidal Icewine 2006 ($19.80/200 ml, No. 522672), followed by peach and poached pear. Quite syrupy, but finishes with good acidity.

And expect an uncanny essence of caramelized sugar in the slightly aged and very good Strewn Vidal Icewine 2002 ($24.75/200 ml, No. 467746). This one's on the sweeter side of the icewine spectrum, with a creamy texture and remarkable depth of flavour.

Pick of the week

Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Brut from Niagara ($29.70, product No. 616441) is less than half the price of Veuve Clicquot champagne and more than half as good. Bone-dry, full-flavoured and remarkably complex, the current release is brimming with luscious pineapple- and orange-like fruit, a hint of raw bread dough and fine, persistent bubbles.

The finish is long and lemony.