Healdsburg Champagne Bar Now Open

Looks like the sisters behind Healdsburg’s new downtown champagne bar couldn’t help but soft-open this past week, even though their official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony isn’t til Valentine’s Day (of course). Caroline Bontia, the fun-loving lady who runs the “Shop Local Healdsburg” Instagram account, stopped by the bar at 134 North St. — in the little Victorian building behind Valette — with her friends from the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley org on Thursday. And from the wobbly footage, it looks like they had a ball buying a bottle; choosing their own vintage champagne glasses from the bar’s elaborate collection; getting cozy with some bubbly and fancy-looking snacks in one of the golden velvet booths; giggling in the direction of the mayor, who had stopped by for a date with his wife; etc. The bar’s owner, Sarah Quider — a reported higher-up in billionaire Bill Foley’s wine empire who’s opening the Bubble Bar as a passion project — can’t stop smiling in the footage, and it’s easy to see why. She and her sister have turned the bar into a total Pinterest dreamland of the Parisian romance aesthetic. Everyone who even comes near it seems to start bubbling. “I’m so excited,” Sarah tells the Press Democrat. More from the PD: “Quider’s wine list covers the gamut with a cava for $25 while the priciest bottle, a 2013 Dom Pérignon, is $600. ‘My goal with the wine list is to have something for everyone,’ she said. Roughly half the list is French champagne, with others from California. Beyond France and California, there are also offerings from Spain, Italy, Argentina, New Zealand, and South Africa.” Also: “To create a little suspense, Quider plans to offer a blind tasting of three bubblies each month. People can vote on their favorite and she’ll tally the results, posting them at the end of the month on her website (healdsburgbubblebar.com) and on social media.” Sarah announced on Instagram today that she’ll keep the bar open all this weekend, from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Time to go immerse and see what all the fuss is about… (Source: Healdsburg Bubble Bar via Instagram & Shop Local Healdsburg via Instagram & Healdsburg Tribune & Press Democrat & SF Chronicle; paywall)