The story behind Queenston Mile
Queenston Mile is a sparkling-wine specialist on the St. Davids Bench, near Niagara-on-the-Lake. The team farmed the roughly 50-acre site for about two decades before launching the winery in 2018.
That long head start in the vineyard is part of why the wines arrived so polished.
Traditional-method sparkling
The focus here is traditional-method sparkling wine, the same painstaking process used in Champagne, where the bubbles form in the bottle. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir do double duty, going into both the sparkling and the still wines.
Veteran winemaker Rob Power leads the cellar, working in small lots. The first sparkling wine was a 2015 Blanc de Noirs.
Frequently asked questions
What is Queenston Mile known for?
Queenston Mile is a St. Davids Bench winery known for traditional-method sparkling wine, alongside Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It sits on a single 50-acre estate that was farmed for about 20 years before the winery opened in 2018.
What is traditional-method sparkling?
It is the classic way of making sparkling wine, the same method used in Champagne, where the second fermentation that creates the bubbles happens inside each bottle. It takes time and care, and it is the heart of what Queenston Mile does.
Where is Queenston Mile?
On the St. Davids Bench, a sub-appellation near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The Bench is a warm, sheltered pocket well suited to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the two grapes behind its sparkling wines.
