Using old-school methods, Caraccioli Cellars crafts a distinct sparkling wine.

The different ways to produce sparkling wine – there are six – can be divided into a shorthand of quick and less expensive to painstakingly laborious.

At Caraccioli Cellars, winemaker Michel Salgues prefers the latter. With Méthode Champenoise, the secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle. As the lees settle, the bottles are rotated to give the wine even contact. This goes on for several years – four at Caraccioli, with an additional year after disgorgement and dosage (sparkling wine is complicated). The resulting blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the winery’s 2013 Brut Cuvée is elegant. Although it’s an assertive wine, in that pinpoint bubbles stream furiously and a brisk burst of apple, pear, citrus and pineapple give it a fruit-forward ballast, it doesn’t list off balance, as a dusty chalk and hint of funky minerality speak of Santa Lucia Highlands terroir. There’s a rich, honeyed character, a pleasant tropical flair and inviting notion of baking bread – time on lees well spent.

For a second round of cheer, they have a sparkling Rosé, as well.

CARACCIOLI CELLARS, tasting room on Dolores between Ocean and Seventh, Carmel. 622-7722, caracciolicellars.com