The bottles of bubbly coming from California offer an appealing midway point of both price and complexity between prestigious Champagne and fun but forgettable Prosecco.

Champagne lovers are legion. Prosecco enthusiasts are even more numerous (albeit perhaps not quite as discerning). But who are the fans of California sparkling wine? I don’t know anyone who drinks or buys or even talks very much about it. And yet California wineries sold nearly 9 million cases of sparkling wine in the U.S. this past year—more than all the sparkling wine imported to this country combined, according to the Wine Institute. Clearly, people are drinking it somewhere.