We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Roach and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?

This is a tough position to be in for anyone but absolutetly poignant as a business owner. I personally have to take a step back – in life and business  – from time to time and check in with myself. Am I where I want to be? Can I envision a better life without pursuing Loubud?

The latter question is what I asked myself recently when deciding whether or not to grow, or perhaps even, close Loubud Wines. Could I envision a better life for myself, without my sparkling wine business in Santa Barbara County? When I let this thought sink in, it was an easy anwer “No way!”

However, I will be honest and say that it took a lot of introspection, over many months, to differentiate my feelings of uncertainty, from my desires as an entrepreneur. Self doubt and the fear of the unknown were forefront in my mind and absolutely clouding my judgement. Once I recognized that these emotions were normal and part of the process of growing a business (growing pains are no joke!), I accepted them and have a strong desire to keep pursuing my dream.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

Loubud Wines is my passion project that marries my love for traditional method sparkling wine (think Champagne) & entrepreneurship. I developed my wine brand in Santa Barbara County in 2015, as a desire to highlight our wine region as a premium, cool-climate location for sparkling wine. While I am not the first to make sparkling wine in our region, I am honored to be a part of this new wave of excellent sparkling wine producers in SBC.

Loubud is the shortened version of my childhood nickname, Loubudillia, given to me by my father when I was born. Today, Loubud represents my passion for crafting elegant, balanced sparkling and rosé wines in Santa Barbara County.

I have been making Loubud Wines for 7 years and have grown 10-fold in this time. From my first vintage at 1 ton of Pinot noir in 2015, I am now bringing in 10 tons this season. My growth has been steady and organic, only producing as much as I can sell, as I am the sole proprietor, and also because producing sparkling wine is a big investment! To offset a bit of this investment, and to round out my winemaking expertise, I also work full-time as the Associate Winemaker at Sanford Winery & Vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills. Balancing my side business and career has been challenging – vacations are seldom – but the biggest reward is knowing that I am never doing it alone. My family, friends and community have been by my side the entire time, giving advise or lending a hand, whenever needed. I am extremely thankful for the growing Loubud community!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Living in Goleta I get the best of everything – close access to the beach, downtown Santa Barbara and the beautiful wine region of Santa Ynez Valley. When I have family and friends visiting we take advantage of all of it! Haskell’s beach is 2 miles from my place so this is a must for a beach day or catching the sunset. There’s a lot of great hiking trails around us too so we’d definitely get one in. In Goleta, there’s a few hidden gems that we like for drinks – The Imperial for a cocktail – and Rounding Third for a beer. If we head down to Santa Barbara, it’s always fun to stroll down State Street for shopping, coffee or to grab a drink too. My favorite lunch spot is Secret Bao and go-to dinner spot is Bettina Pizzeria. They offer my Rosé By-The-Glass currently which is a huge honor! I’d recommend a mini staycation in Santa Ynez Valley too – exploring all of the great wineries, wine shops, bakeries, cheese shops, restaurants and hiking trails in the area. My favorite hiking trail is Gaviota Peak early in the morning, followed by lunch at Industrial Eats in Buellton or Peasants Feast in Solvang. After that, the world is our oyster!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to give a shout out to my partner, Paul Hughes!

This man has been my rock at home and in growing Loubud Wines. Thank you Paul for believing in me as a winemaker and entrepreneur; thank you for taking the time to learn a new craft alongside of me, and most importantly, thank you for always having dinner on the table at night! They say the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but the same can be said for a winemaker during harvest!

Not going to lie though, Brené Brown was a close second. Her podcasts are my weekly obsession during my 45-min commute!

Website: www.loubudwines.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loubudwines/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-roach-90887120

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loubudwines/

Image Credits
Bottle Branding and Atlas Imagery

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