Laura Roach is the Winemaker and Owner of Loubud Wines and Associate Winemaker at Sanford Winery in Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California. Her winemaking career began at Schramsberg Vineyards of Napa Valley in 2008, where she worked her first harvest as a Laboratory Intern. Two years later, she gained her Bachelor of Science in Viticulture & Enology from the University of California, Davis and was awarded the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Scholarship to work abroad in Burgundy, France. In the following years, Laura continued to work harvest internships abroad and at home in South Africa twice and again in Napa Valley.

Through this exposure, Laura gained an appreciation for “terroir” and a passion for producing quality, cool-climate wines. This passion led Laura to Sanford Winery in 2012, where she started as the Enologist and was promoted to Assistant Winemaker in April 2015. A few months later, Laura founded Loubud Wines, focusing on small-production Méthode Champenoise Sparklings and Rosés of Pinot Noir.

Loubud is the shortened version of Laura’s childhood nickname, Loubudillia, given to her by her father when she was born. Today, Loubud represents her passion for producing handcrafted, quality sparkling wines in Santa Barbara County.

Laura is a panelist for the Translating Terroir Through Bubbles seminar on Saturday, March 4, from 9:30 am - 11:30 am.