Are California's best sparkling wines from the Central Coast?

Champagne has long been the liquid symbol for celebration, poured at coronations, christenings and Christmas tables with inevitability. Yet the assumption that only one region can produce suitable sparkling wine is beginning to feel tired. What began as borrowed prestige founded on another’s reputation and nomenclature has given way to a new seriousness: sparkling wines of artisanal quality, defined not by loopholes but by their distinct terroir and a commitment to the regional ‘house style’. This is not an imitation. It is translation: French blueprints reinterpreted in Californian sunlight, tempered by maritime breezes and rooted in soils ranging from chalk to diatomaceous earth. The result is wines that can compete on merit rather than marketing. Subscribe today to read all Decanter Premium articles, tasting notes and scores [subscriber-content] The sparkling foundation [caption id="attachment_565530" align="alignnone" width="1300"] de Montille Vineyard at sunset. Credit: Racines[/caption] Laetitia Vineyards & Winery lies just a few miles from the coast in the cool Arroyo Grande Valley. The winery was founded in 1982 by Deutz , a well-known Champagne house. Laetitia has spent more than four decades proving sparkling wine can be more than an eccentric sideline in California. A corporate interlude under Vintage Wine Estates brought updated machinery (though they kept their impressive original Deutz era wooden press for show in their tasting room), rigorous laboratory work and expanded cellar staff, raising quality even as the estate was folded into a wider portfolio. In 2024, second-generation winemaker Eric Hickey – who began in the cellar in 1988, led by his father – led a buy-back with local families, restoring Laetitia to independent stewardship. The wines are sharper for it: the 2021 Blanc de Blancs shows crystalline focus and chalky drive, while the 2021 Cuvée M delivers complexity, toast and richness fit for December tables. Pinot roots and a sparkling future Not every Central Coast sparkling house was born to bubbles. Riverbench, founded in the Santa Maria Valley in 1973, built its name on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay before branching into méthode champenoise in 2008. Its sparkling wines lean into orchard fruit and brisk acidity, deepened by lees ageing. Sea Smoke, better known for plush and velveteen Pinot Noir, has followed suit, folding a selected lot of estate fruit into a sparkling programme that is more than meets the eye. An understated generosity and energetic acid profile highlight the oceanic minerality of the Sta. Rita Hills. While on the fuller side, their Sea Spray remains brut nature with no dosage added, highlighting the producer’s commitment to showcase the integrity of their estate-grown grapes, reminding us that estates once defined by undeniably Californian Pinot Noir can turn their hand to cellarworthy sparkling. Then there is Flying Goat Cellars, founded by Norm Yost, named Vintner of the Year by the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance this past August. Cultish in reputation, Flying Goat specialises in nerdy, small-lot sparklings, often from Bien Nacido, Riverbench and Solomon Hills vineyards. If Laetitia offers polish and Racines a French accent, Flying Goat is the eccentric professor – idiosyncratic, cerebral and deeply respected. Franco-Californian fusion [caption id="attachment_565529" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Loubud owner and winemaker, Laura Hughes. Credit: Loubud[/caption] If Laetitia represents endurance, Racines embodies evolution built on French traditions. Founded with its first vintage in 2017, Racines is the brainchild of Burgundy’s Étienne de Montille and Brian Sieve, joined by Rodolphe Péters of Champagne Pierre Péters. Their presence in the Sta. Rita Hills is no vanity project. Fog, wind, and ancient marine soils share some similarities with their Champagne counterparts, albeit with a bit more sunshine. Wines from Sanford & Benedict, Bentrock and La Rinconada carry Champagne’s discipline of precision intact and minerality, yet the presence of Sta Rita Hills’ unique terroir in the glass makes it easy to distinguish their Californian roots. The new wave The next wave of California winemaking talent is pushing sparkling further still, with each producer bringing a distinct philosophy and style to their glass. Loubud, the personal project of Laura Hughes (currently the assistant winemaker at Sanford), focuses on small-lot, coastal-influenced wines. Her sparklings are generally lean and vibrant, showing saline energy, tension and shaped with artisanal precision. From there, the tone shifts with Lady of the Sunshine, where winemaker Gina Giugni uses regenerative farming as the foundation for wines of both vibrant freshness and earthy botanical nuance. Her sparkling solera cuvées are different, with flavours that can be both fresh and oxidative, unembellished by heavy sulfur additions – these wines are wonderfully refreshing for those who value originality and authenticity above adornment. Meanwhile, Tyler and Lieu Dit, both associated with Justin Willett, have begun weaving méthode champenoise into their already acclaimed portfolios. Best known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of crystalline precision, their sparklings carry the same exacting approach: lean, mineral and unapologetically terroir-driven. Why here? The Central Coast thrives on paradox. Ocean winds cool the fruit while the Californian sun ensures ripeness. Chalk, clay and diatomaceous earth give both texture and tension. It is this collision – between generosity and restraint – that makes the region so apt for sparkling wine. In short, Champagne’s climate is impossible to replicate, but Sta. Rita Hills and the Santa Maria Valley come closer than one might ever expect. The Northern counterpoint [caption id="attachment_565531" align="alignnone" width="1300"] Credit: Racines[/caption] Quality California sparkling did not begin here. Schramsberg in Napa and Domaine Carneros in Carneros have long set the standard. Schramsberg supplied the Nixon-era White House; Domaine Carneros, with its château façade, has become a must-try sparkling-only tasting location for American wine lovers. Both deliver consistency and broad appeal, with volumes to match. Yet scale brings compromise. Both labels produce reliable classics, but lack the crisp mineral and saline imprints found in soils of the central coast. Bigger names up in California’s North Coast offer consistency and recognisable branding, but can sometimes feel more corporate than soulful. Nevertheless, these wines remain essential markers of quality-driven California sparkling wine. Sparkling-only houses up north also seem to offer one thing we don’t often find on the Central Coast: a wider range of sparkling styles with a spectrum of dosage levels that can be found in almost every tasting room, and even the occasional demi-sec bottlings, reminding us that America’s romance with sugar is alive and well, despite ‘dry’ being the most requested style in tasting rooms and restaurants alike. Within the bounds of the Central Coast, most producers have found the sweet spot of ripeness and freshness thanks to the proximity to the coast and protection of morning fog. This can be achieved with little to no dosage, keeping in line with consumer trends without compromising on flavour, which allows for a sharp yet balanced result. A crown all its own For decades, American sparkling has hovered between aspiration and apology, alternately borrowing Champagne’s name, undercutting its price. The Central Coast suggests another way forward: sparkling wines that neither imitate nor rebel, but speak fluently of their own place. The reflex may still be to reach for the prestige of French Champagne or the affordability of Italian Prosecco. But the smarter money – and, given tariffs, more sustainable and often better value for quality – can be found on bottles from Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria and the Sta. Rita Hills. They deserve not only a place at the table but perhaps a new tradition altogether: a toast to life with a coastal accent. [/subscriber-content] Brilliant bubbles from California’s Central Coast: seven to try [wine-collection] Related articles Expert’s Choice: American sparkling wines A royal affair: California wines and historic spirits served at Trump’s state banquet Vintage English sparkling wine: Panel tasting results

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Are California’s best sparkling wines from the Central Coast?

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Brilliant bubbles from California’s Central Coast: seven to try

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