Santa Barbara County boasts a bubbly in every shade of grape — from crystalline blanc de blancs to pale pink rosés and even garnet-hued sparkling shiraz — for New Year’s Eve or any occasion that commands the dazzle of effervescence.
Nearly 58 million bubbles intermingle with an abundance of flavors inside every bottle of sparkling wine and it is precisely this festive fusion that makes them so delicious. To create the fizz, sparkling wines are fermented twice — once in barrel and again in the bottle. Winemakers add yeast and sugar to a bottle of still wine, which produces tiny carbon dioxide bubbles. When the second fermentation is complete, the nose of each bottle is frozen and uncapped so that the remaining sediment can be removed. Then, one by one, the bottles are topped with sweetened wine and carefully re-corked. This elaborate process, called the méthode champenoise, produces sparkling wines with ethereal bubbles and intricate flavors.
Santa Barbara sparklers in particular reflect the vibrant hues and diverse terrain of our local landscape — something we’re happy to celebrate with each sip. Toast 2011 with one these bubbles: