champagne tasting

Fess Parker’s Fesstivity at The Bubble Shack

March 21, 2019 By calicoastblog Leave a Comment

Fesstivity sparkling wines are a collaborative effort for Parker siblings Eli Parker and Ashley Parker Snider. Their first release of Blanc de Blancs, Brut Rose and Blanc de Noirs have proven to be great expressions of their shared vision of fresh and exciting wines from the finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills, AVA.

This is Fess Parker’s all-bubbly, all-the-time tasting room in Los Olivos with 3 sparklers on their tasting menu (open Friday – Monday only). This year, The Bubble Shack celebrates the Fess Parker Winery’s 30th Anniversary with a 1.5L bottling of 2015 Fesstivity Anniversary Cuvee.

Blanc De Noirs: “The delicate, persistent bubbles and straw color with a hint of salmon are harbingers of great things to come. You will detect hints of brioche, ginger and lemon rind on the nose. The palate offers up gorgeous citrus and tangerine flavors tempered by mineral notes and a delicious yeasty/pastry dough element as a result of extended time laying en tirage.”

Fess Parker Sparkling Wine at the Bubble Shack

Brut Cuvée: “Benefitting from additional time en tirage, this is our most complex sparkling wine to date.”

Sparkling Grenache: “Our 2015 Sibling Bubblery is surprisingly refreshing despite its dark ruby color. Aromas of cranberry, red plum and baking spice are what you will encounter on the nose of this sparkling Grenache. The palate is loaded with juicy flavors of red plum and black raspberry made more delicious due to a hint of cinnamon. While Grenache is an unusual choice of varietal for a sparkling wine we can assure you that you will be better off for having put your preconceived notions aside and trying it. Enjoy!”

2016 Brut Rosé also coming soon!

Santa Barbara County Sparkling Wine Map: a Champagne Lover’s Guide

April 5, 2017 By calicoastblog 14 Comments

First-ever Santa Barbara County Sparkling Wine Map: Where to Get Local Bubbles

It’s known by many names: Champagne, Sparkling Wine, Bubbly, Bubbles, Cava or Champers. California Sparkling Wine can’t be called Champagne — it’s not from the Champagne region of France — but it’s made in the same methode traditionelle, or method champenoise, used in Champagne. But Santa Barbara’s “champagne” is also delicious…and it’s local!

Santa Barbara county has perfect conditions and grapes to make high-quality Sparkling Wine. Santa Barbara county is one of the world’s premier growing regions for Chardonnay & Pinot Noir – 2 of the main grapes in traditional Champagne. And lucky for us, there are more than 40 Sparkling Wine producers in the county trying their hand at it.

Now you can use the Santa Barbara Sparkling Wine Map for you to find them all. Many producers don’t make enough quantity to have bubbles on a regular tasting list, but you can always ask at the winery. If they have some bubbles available; they’re likely to pour them for you. A good guideline: if you like the winery’s white wines, you’ll probably like their Sparkling Wine.

You’ll find Sparkling wine in Santa Barbara, Summerland, Los Olivos, Solvang, Santa Ynez, Buellton, Lompoc, Santa Maria Valley and Los Alamos, with more on the way. Even wineries without tasting rooms and getting into the bubbles business – the online-only producers are from some of the county’s highest-rated winemakers.

Download the Santa Barbara Sparkling Wine Map.

Contact me if you’d like copies for your tasting room!

Flying Goat Cellars – Goat Bubbles

December 2, 2016 By calicoastblog Leave a Comment

One of the original sparkling wine makers in Santa Barbara county using the traditional method to make bubbles — méthode champenoise — was Flying Goat Cellars. Norm Yost and Kate Griffith have been picking early, fermenting grapes, providing the proper environment for a second fermentation in the bottle and disgorging in the Lompoc wine ghetto since 2005. Flying Goat is one of the few bubbles producers in the county to master handcrafting sparkling wine at its own facility, where every step of production is done in-house.

Norm’s been a Pinot Noir maker, drinker and fanatic since landing in the Santa Ynez Valley in 1979. But for him, the Sta. Rita Hills‘ and Santa Maria Valley’s high acidity, low sugars, and great flavors were perfect for sparkling wine.

Flying Goat is the first to open a Bubbles Bar in their tasting room in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto, where you can taste all 5 of their stellar sparkling wines. Sounds like you need a road trip to Santa Barbara’s OG of sparkling wine!

Goat Bubbles: