Flying Goat Bags A Golden Bear at CA State Fair
Flying Goat Cellars received the Golden Bear award at the California State Fair (CSF) for our Best of Show in sparkling wine: 2021 Goat Bubbles Pinot Meunier. Norm and I attended the awards ceremony on July 21 in Sacramento and returned home proudly bearing our Golden Bear, the highest honor. All are invited to our Flying Goat Cellars Tasting Room for Golden Bear viewing and Goat Bubbles tasting.
Flying Goat’s 2021 Goat Bubbles Pinot Meunier received Double Gold, Best of Show Sparkling and 99 points at the 2025 CSF Commercial Wine Competition. Norm commented, “What an honor for our first release of Goat Bubbles Pinot Meunier!” The tasty fruit is sourced from Riverbench Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley. Closely related to Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier is a mutation from cloning. It is the third grape variety allowed in Champagne, alongside Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Fans have dubbed the Goat Bubbles Pinot Meunier "Barbie Bubbles" due to the pink label and coincidental release with the movie.
Dating back to 1854, the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition is the oldest and most prestigious wine competition in the U.S., continuing a legacy of honoring the very best of the Golden State. The competition is open exclusively to wines made with fruit grown and produced in California’s wine growing regions. Wines are judged by class, varietal, style, and growing region, celebrating the depth and diversity of California’s winemaking industry. The judging was held over three days at Cal Expo. Chief Judge Mark Chandler led 39 expert judges to taste and evaluate 1,587 wines representing 309 of California’s top wine brands.
“The Commercial Wine Competition is a true celebration of California’s rich agricultural heritage and the incredible talent of our state’s winemakers,” said Tom Martinez, CEO of the California Exposition & State Fair. “We’re proud to showcase these award-winning wines at the Fair and give our guests a chance to experience the best of the Golden State.”
Flying Goat Cellars is a family-owned and operated Santa Barbara County winery dedicated to producing age-worthy Pinot Noir and Sparkling Wine since 2000. With the celebration of Flying Goat’s 25th anniversary, award-winning filmmaker Steve Jacobson captured the essence of their story with a video available on YouTube here. In August Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance will honor Norm Yost with the 2025 “Vintner of the Year” award and Pacific Coast Business Times will honor Flying Goat with the “Spirit of Small Business” agribusiness entrepreneurship award.
Flying Goat Cellars Tasting Room is open Thursday-Monday 11am-4pm. The Tasting Room is located in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto at 1521 E. Chestnut Ct., Lompoc, CA. Wines are also available online at flyinggoatcellars.com.
