Bubbles In Good Times and Bad
By: Virginie Boone
There’s something about bubbles that immediately signals celebration and good times, even, or maybe especially, when times are less than good. Some of the most famous quotes about Champagne and sparkling wine reflect its dual nature.
“I drink Champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad,” is Lily Bollinger’s oft-quoted line, which goes on to add, “Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.”
Napolean Bonaparte and Winston Churchill are both quoted for saying about bubbles, “In victory, I deserve it. In defeat, I need it.” Winston also said, “Champagne is the wine of civilization and the oil of government.”
Whether you feel victorious or defeated, there are many places to lift your spirits or dampen your woes drinking bubbles in Sonoma County. Try them all.
The Dry Creek Valley-based Amista loves sparkling wines and Rhone-inspired wines and often combines the two – founder Vicky Farrow is also behind Sparkling Discoveries, a community dedicated to all things sparkling wine. Its estate sparkling Fusión, for example, blends Chardonnay, Syrah and Grenache. Grapes are estate and wines made by Ashley Herzberg, who uses Methode Champenoise techniques to refine the bubbles. Vineyards were certified organic in 2024.
Founded by three sisters, Healdsburg-based Breathless is all about the bubbles, and to the moments that “take your breathe away.” Tours go deep into what it takes to make a Methode Champenoise wine and are followed by seated tastings. A garden patio exists for other flights and tastings, or enjoy bottle service, also known as Picnic on the Hill, where wines will be delivered to go with in-house culinary options such as a Caviar Picnic, or bring your own.
Buena Vista Winery Bubble Lounge
The historic Sonoma winery offers a sparkling wine flight experience by reservation in a specially-appointed space within the winery walls. Intended to “transport you to an era of days gone by characterized by carefree revelry and opulence,” it has current owner Jean-Charles Boisset’s reputation for refined decadence written all over it.
A sparkling wine pioneer in windswept Carneros, the Ferrer family is well-known in Spain for its cava and came to California in the early 1980s to see what else they could do. It remains a beautiful perch from which to take in the beauty of the area while enjoying any number of sparkling flights as well as bites. Its Three-Course Culinary Experience is a popular place to start. Weekend brunch on the terrace is also well-loved, as are the Thursday evening $12 Sunset Sessions with wine and tapas that take place through October.
Sonoma County-native Sarah Quider spent most of her career as a winemaker, running all the Foley Family Wines’ wineries most recently. During the pandemic she decided to shift from winemaking to bubble pouring, opening this beautiful Parisian-inspired spot in downtown Healdsburg behind Valette and across from SingleThread. It’s an intimate indoor-outdoor space where Quider presides behind a lovely selection of international and domestic sparkling wines by the glass and bottle (and also for purchase) and puts together blind flights for fun and for her active wine club. Bites include caviar, charcuterie, canned branzino, crunchy selections of popcorn, chips, or potato sticks, and even a cupcake from nearby Noble Folk.
While the Russian River Valley-based family winery is known for its lovely Pinots and Endless Crush Rosé, it also makes a terrific lineup of sparkling wines, using not only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but Pinot Gris. Take the Sip and Stroll Vineyard and Garden Tour and Tasting if you can, a wonderful way to wander the vineyard with purpose with owner/winemaker Kathleen Inman.
“Where Rustic Meets Elegance” they like to say and it’s true. The Green Valley of Russian River Valley stalwart makes an outstanding lineup of sparklers from estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, pouring them in full view of the vineyard and surrounding valley. The wines not only taste good, many of them do good, raising money for beneficiaries such as Heal the Bay.
The Russian River Valley winery started with bubbles and is still very much about bubbles, from its popular Cuvee 20 to more newly produced Love California Brut Cuvee made in partnership with grantLOVE founder and artist Alexandra Grant. The place is so infatuated with sparkling wine it has its own Bubble Room, where a five-course Sonoma County-sourced pairing menu is served alongside J’s varietal and sparkling wines.
Started in 1882 in the cool climes of Guerneville, Korbel remains a popular destination for bubbles and food, offering daily walk-in stand-up tastings of three wines for $15 and walking tours of its museum and cellar. An on-site deli and market makes it easy to add lunch to the proceedings, with bottles and glasses of wine for sale in addition to mimosas and bellinis.
Opened by SingleThread veterans Evan and Jade Hufford and Ryan Knowles, Maison is a wine bar in the thick of town with a long and varied list of wines by the glass and bottle, as well as beers and ciders. Bottles under $300 to go are priced 20% off. By the glass options rotate, but always include sparkling wines from home and abroad, like the current Delta 2021 Piquette from Sonoma Coast, as well as half-bottles if that’s all you want. Domestic sparkling bottles on the list include a handful of Cruse Wines both Sonoma Coast and California appellated, as well as Sonoma County-grown delights from Freeman, Seppi and Under the Wire.
In Sebastopol’s The Barlow, Region has hundreds of wines from dozens of local wineries available by the glass and invites food from nearby vendors like Acre Pizza, Acre Pasta and The Farmer’s wife to be ordered and enjoyed on its premises. The goal is to highlight the makers themselves via a diversity of varieties and wineries from across the region, and it does, from Aperture to Serres Ranch, pouring 60-plus varieties across the portfolio. There are always plenty of bubbles to be had.
Just off the central square, this first-come, first-served bubbles-devoted bar centers around an elegant oval communal seating area from which to enjoy domestic and international sparklers as well as flights, with the chance to also enjoy cheese, caviar and seasonal small bites. Beers, still wines and Sigh Slushies are also on tap. Sigh was started by native Sonoman Jayme Powers, a former sparkling wine educator for Schramsberg Vineyards, who opened its first iteration in 2012 in a 400-square-feet space down the road. The current version has been going since 2017. All bottles can also be bought to go.
Photo By: Healdsburg Bubble Bar
