|  In
the Movies & the Press
We’re more than thrilled that
Fiddlehead and our wines are mentioned in news articles
and reviews by wine and food writers.
And, in addition to Sideways,
our wines end up in quite a few supporting roles in
TV and film! Read all about our latest “ink”
here and check out Fiddlehead in
Film here.
In the News
Scott from Vino Las Vegas
caught up with Kathy at the Santa Barbara County Vintners'
Festival.
 Stephen
Tanzer’s IWC covers the world of fine wine.
Their coverage of the Central Coast notes that they
were “particularly taken by the energy and clarity
of the wines from the 2005 vintage, which are a welcome
relief to those who value finesse and balance over brute
force and extreme ripeness.”
Here’s what they had to say
about our Sauvignon Blancs in their December 2007 issue:
2006 Goosebury Sauvignon Blanc Santa
Ynez Valley: Bright straw. Energetic lime and quince
aromas are brightened by jasmine and dusty minerals.
Clean and refreshing, offering spicy orchard fruit flavors
and a brisk citrus zest quality. Kathy Joseph’s
objective is “to highlight the elegance of sauvignon
blanc” and she told me she avoids malolactic fermentation
because “you miss out on the minerality of the
variety”. 90.
2005 Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc Santa
Ynez Valley: Greenish straw. Assertively perfumed nose
offers racy grapefruit and quince aromas complicated
by jasmine and green tea. Fleshier orange and pear on
the palate, with a nervy citrus pith quality adding
vivacity. Finishes with good energy and breadth. 88.
2003 Hunnysuckle Sauvignon Blanc Santa
Ynez Valley (raised in all-new French barriques): Light
gold. Ripe peach and vanilla on the nose, with exotic
lemon thyme and magnolia adding complexity. Tangy citrus
flavors are surprisingly round, picking up riper pear
and white peach with air. Nothing heavy or oaky about
this. Finishes with excellent juicy persistence and
firm minerality. 90.
2005 Sweetie Late
Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Santa Ynez Valley: Greenish
straw. Exotic lichee and melon aromas are perked up
by suave floral and mineral qualities. Clean orchard
fruit and melon flavors display impressive clarity and
energy, with no excess fat. Really clings on the long,
spicy, strikingly pure finish. This has 14% residual
sugar. 91.
 "Building
on California’s allure as America’s ‘Capital
of Culinary Travel,’ the California Wine Institute
and the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC)
have entered into an historic partnership to promote
the state’s wine and cuisine offerings to the
fast-growing travel segment of culinary connoisseurs
– and those who aspire to be.”
And Kathy was invited to make a debut
as one of a select few wine representatives for this
National advertisement.
California
Travel and Tourism Commission Questions for Wine/Food
Talent Responses by Kathy Joseph, Fiddlehead Winemaker
The Ten Things Kathy Joseph
Can’t Live Without
Destination Wine Country magazine
came to visit Kathy and asked her to list the 10 things
she simply cannot live without. Read
them here!
 Wine
critic Steve Heimoff just released his new book,
New Classic Winemakers of California, Conversations
with Steve Heimoff. Kathy is profiled in his book, and
one of their conversations goes like this:
Steve: How long did you stay at Simi?
Kathy: Five months. Every vintage, I
worked for another producer. In ’82, Joseph Phelps.
[In] ’83, for Bob Long [of Long Vineyards]. Each
place I went, there was a little bit of education to
be had.
Steve: When you went to Phelps, that
wasn’t PR, was it?
Kathy: No. I worked with the cellar rats.
I learned to hook up pumps, and about wine transfers,
and filtrations, and fining, and driving the forklift
and the dump truck.
Steve: The unromantic stuff.
Kathy: Actually, it depends on how you
look at it. I love that stuff. Even what some consider
the cruddy jobs I find romance in!
Toronto Globe & Mail
Remember the scene in a restaurant when
Miles is getting to know the waitress Maya? They both
enthuse about an oak-laced sauvignon blanc produced
by Fiddlehead in the Santa Ynez Valley. Then Maya proudly
proclaims, ‘I know the winemaker. She comes into
the restaurant all the time.’ That winemaker is
Kathy Joseph, perhaps more respected for her superb
and much more expensive pinot noirs, such as the $60
Lollapalooza. But this white Happy Canyon is excellent
too, and a model of subtle thoughtful winemaking. Light-bodied
and silky, it suggests flavours of pear, vanilla, herbs
and slate, with delicate spice and toasty nuances of
the clean finish. Full disclosure: I know the winemaker
too. She’s the sister-in-law of a friend, and
I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy this and many
other hard-to-get Fiddlehead wines in the past.
Beppi Crosariol
September 29th, 2007
The Santa Barbara News Press
recently profiled Kathy, Fiddlestix, FiddleFest and
Fiddlehead wines in their article “Creating Music
for the Palate – Kathy Joseph makes Fiddlehead
a world-class wine.”
If there's anyone in the Santa Ynez
Valley with well-aligned left and right brains, it's
Kathy Joseph. The founder, proprietor and self-proclaimed
"grape-herder" of Fiddlehead Cellars exhibits
a rare balance of free-spirited creativity and analytical
zest…
Read
the entire article here!
A group of Santa Barbara County Vintners
hosted a group from Canada recently. Here’s a
few excerpts from our neighbors to the North; from New
Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
At one ghetto warehouse I tasted the
fine, age-worthy Pinots of Richard Longoria, including
a 1997 from the nearby Santa Maria Valley that blew
me away with its elegance and fruit. Made in the same
plain metal building are the tasty wines of Fiddlehead
Cellars - a natural import for New Brunswick! Owner
and winemaker Kathy Joseph is a peppy enthusiast with
experience in Oregon (she still makes Oregon Pinot)
who makes refreshing Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir
perfect for food matching. She has a tasty Pinot Noir
Rosé called Pink Fiddle that would liven up any
patio party. We drove by her Fiddlestix Vineyard in
the Santa Rita Hills, part of the Santa Ynez Valley
but blessed with its own official appellation due to
its excellent terroir for Pinot Noir. Fiddlestix is
located next to Sea Smoke vineyard, a darling among
wine critics.
Local wine writer Laurie Jervis
from the Santa Maria Times gets a preview
of FiddleFest ’07.
Read
all about it!
 Wine
writer Laurie Daniels of the San Jose Mercury News
recently wrote about the Happy Canyon region of the
Santa Ynez Valley. She outlines the increasing quality
of Bordeaux varietals, particularly Sauvignon Blanc.
Laurie and Kathy noted: “The 2005 Fiddlehead Cellars
Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc ($24), which uses fruit
from Westerly and Vogelzang, is crisp and citrusy with
creamy and smoky accents.” "I get great acidity
- and I get ripe fruit," says Fiddlehead owner/winemaker
Kathy Joseph. "To me, that's what sauvignon blanc
is all about."
Click
here to read the full article.
 Neil
Monnens and Randal Dennis of WineRelease.com
came to FiddleHeadquarters to find out what’s
new.
Hear
the podcast here!
Wine Enthusiast Editors Choice!
 94
Points for 2005 Lollapalooza! “This is beautiful,
dark and powerful, but refined and elegant. Packed with
red and and dark cherry stone fruit flavors, it has
an excitingly smooth, silky texture, and finishes with
an explosion of spice. Editors Choice
— S.H. “
“Full Bodied With a Hint of Nokia”
 Our
friends at the Colorado Wine Company in
Pasadena came to visit, and then had a few notes on
their visit and the wines tasted. “One thing we
love about Fiddlehead even before gulping down their
fantastic wines is that they hold back their releases
to let them gain a little complexity in the bottle.
Well, that brings us to the 2003 Fiddlehead Cellars
'Oldsville Reserve' Willamette Valley Pinot Noir from
Oregon…”
Read the entire review here.
 I
don’t know of another winemaker in the business
who has more energy and passion than owner Kathy Joseph.
Her Fiddlestix Vineyard is now one of the most desirable
sources for Pinot Noir in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. She
was pouring a mini vertical of her Lollapalooza (try
saying that after a few glasses of Pinot), which is
composed of the best barrels in her cellar. Lollapalooza
is an old English term meaning “best of its kind.”
The Fiddlechix lineup of wines are available at www.fiddleheadcellars.com.
But I suggest you take a trip to Lompoc and catch Kathy
in her native environment for a real Pinot experience
(1597 E. Chestnut, 805-742-0204).
2003 Fiddlehead Lollapalooza
Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir 14.1% alc., 312 cases, $50.
The 2002 was as smooth as a baby’s bottom, the
2003 is just starting to round out beautifully, and
the 2004 is a youngster that drinks like mother’s
milk. I told Kathy I preferred the 2003 and she replied,
“Good thing, that’s the one that is currently
for sale!”
94
points!
2004 Lollapalooza Pinot Noir –
This is one of the top vineyards in the appellation,
sought by anyone who can get the grapes. Co-owner Kathy
Joseph has crafted a voluptuous, sensual Pinot that’s
soft, beguiling and super-rich in cherry pie, smoky
char and cinnamon-spicy vanilla flavors. It’s
the kind of Pinot everyone wants to make but usually
can’t.
Lunch in the Ghetto
Rusty
Gaffney MD, the "Prince of Pinot" spent a
day with us during harvest, visiting both the winery
and the vineyard.
"Although the outside of the warehouse
is nondescript, inside Fiddlehead winery there is a
passion and playful exuberance that is infectious. The
inside is filled with the latest winemaker’s tools
and the space is as organized and tidy as a newborn
nursery. Kathy has names for each of her fermentation
tanks such as, “Dimples” (this one is dented),
“No Name,” “Nokia” (this one
swallowed her cell phone), and “Bad Boy”
(this one sits in the corner). All of this in good fun,
but believe me, the wines here are seriously hedonistic
and play second fiddle to none."
For Kathy, it is all about “taste,
taste, taste.” I got some feel for how she puts
the barrels together as we sampled several barrels of
2005 Pinot Noir, clones 113, 115, 626, and Pommard.
Frankly, I found it all a bit overwhelming, but then
that is why I am writing about wine and not making it!
When asked about her winemaking style, Kathy has said,
“I think my wines reflect my curly-haired personality.”
I am not sure what style of Pinot Noir that is. When
pressed for a serious answer, she says she goes for
“prettiness,” and specifically taste, texture
and structure.
Click here
to read the full article.
Euro-beautiful
 Matt
Kramer, in the October 15 edition of Wine Spectator,
used Fiddlehead as an example of "Euro-beautiful"
wine - the sort of wine that "give
you a sense of not just goodness, but of a producer's
commitment to his or her land" .
Tasting Room Open!
 Local
wine writer Laurie Jervis, from the Santa Maria
Times, recently visited to check out our tasting
room. In addition to noting hours we are open, and our
upcoming Library Tasting & Sale, Laurie noted: “In
addition to producing top-rated wines, Joseph likes
to have fun with her product.
"Consider the names of certain Fiddlehead
varietals: ‘Pinkie,' or Pink Fiddle, a ‘playful'
2005 pinot noir rose with grapes from Fiddlestix vineyard
on Santa Rosa Road. Or ‘Sweetie,' a late-harvest
sauvignon blanc with a hint of Muscat blanc. Another
Fiddlehead wine is the rare pinot noir ‘Doyle,'
named after her husband, her ‘Sweetie,' Joseph
explains.”
Click
here to read the full article.
PinotFile
Pinot Noirvana!
The Prince of Pinot himself attended
IPNC and sampled our 2004 Lollapalooza. He
had this to say:
“A real lip smacker that is
fat on the palate and enhanced with deft wood and brown
spice. It will only get better with some cellaring if
you can keep your hands off it.”
But you’ll have to wait –
we haven’t even released our 03 yet! Read the
Prince’s full review of IPNC here
 From
the Burghound!
Here’s what Allan Meadows had
to say about our 2002 Lollapalooza in his recent newsletter:
“An intensely earthy nose of dark
berry fruit that displays hints of smoke, truffle, spice
and leather gives way to round, intense, sweet and beautifully
detailed flavors where the moderately structured finish
really coats the mouth with sappy extract”
Read
his review of our entire Pinot Noir lineup here.
 "an
elegant symphony"
On Kathy’s recent trip to the
east coast, she met with wine writer Roger Morris while
in Delaware.
“We began with two quite different
sauvignons from Santa Barbara County, where the Fiddlehead
winery is located in Lompoc. We then met the redhead
of the family -- a crisp rosé of pinot noir called
"Pink Fiddle," and two pinot noirs from her
Fiddlestix vineyard, in the new Santa Rita appellation,
and another from Oregon. We finished with a chilled
dessert wine, a Sauternes-like sauvignon appropriately
called "Sweetie."
He concluded his article by saying
:
“Joseph, a vibrant, expressive
woman who describes herself as the "Head Fiddle,"
conducts an elegant symphony with her two expressive
instruments.”
Read
the full article here.
 More
good news from Santa Barbara
"Santa Barbara wines continue to
impress me. I recently spent a morning tasting through
the latest releases from Fiddlehead Cellars. Kathy Joseph
started Fiddlehead to make her two favorite varietals:
Pinot Noir and – no, not Chardonnay, but Sauvignon
Blanc. The Sauvignon Blanc comes from the eastern end
of the Santa Ynez Valley, and the Pinot Noir from her
estate vineyard – Fiddlestix – in the cooler
Santa Rita Hills appellation, on the western end of
the valley. She also makes Pinot Noir from fruit from
Oregon’s Willamette Valley, another great Pinot-growing
appellation. Kathy worked at several California wineries
before going out on her own, and she’s very good
at what she does. The Fiddlehead Cellars portfolio is
pretty much astonishing, right across the board."
Anthony Dias Blue
WCBS BLUE LIFESTYLE MINUTE
 Forbes
recently wrote about all the wonderful foods of the
Spring season, and recommended wines for each. Morel
mushrooms and Fiddlehead Pinot Noir – oh yes!
Read the
full article here.
 “Making
Wine but pining for Mr. Beef” headlines the article
about Chicagoans who have left the windy city to make
wine. Kathy is featured and profiled in the article.
Read
all about it here.
The
Prince himself joined us at the Gala Dinner during the
recently held World of Pinot Noir. Here’s what
he had to say about our 2002 Doyle:
“2002 Fiddlehead Cellars “Doyle”
Fiddlestix Vineyard Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir Kathy
Joseph purchased 133 acres of barren hillside in 1996
across the road from Sanford & Benedict Vineyard.
She created a vineyard company with Beringer to develop
and farm the site. This bottling is very limited and
composed of only the best barrels from an outstanding
vintage (the wine is not made in every vintage). At
the Gala Dinner I couldn’t get enough of this
wine which was my favorite of the 16 wines I sampled
that evening. The exact tasting details are hazy but
I can tell you this Pinot was damn good.”
Click
here for the full newsletter.
 Wine
Zealot recently crowned our 2005 Pink Fiddle with
9 ½ points, out of a possible 10.
“This is a beautiful wine
that dances in your glass. Beautiful, bright hue. Aromatic
nose.”
See
the full review here
 Kathy’s
hometown business periodical recently interviewed her
about the "Sideways Effect”. Kathy explained
that the jump in sales in the few years post 9/11 have
resulted in her first profit since she planted the vineyard.
And in a side note about the article, John Latenser,
the Location Manager for Sideways noted “The use
of Fiddlehead in our film was a direct result of their
warm hospitality and openess to filming. Ultimately,
we filmed that scene in another location, but we didn't
forget the folks at Fiddlehead or their wine. Very good
memories of them.”
Click
here to read the full article.
 A
few weeks ago, the prestigious New York Times published
an article about the culinary scene in Santa Barbara,
titled Kick Back Cuisine in a Stylish City. Calling
Fiddlehead “an important small producer”,
they also went on to quote Kathy, who said “Our
cool little pocket enables us to make consistent and
concentrated wines that age well and develop considerable
finesse."
Click
here to read the full article.
 Titled
"Fit as a Fiddle", North Shore Magazine
profiled Kathy in the September issue of the magazine,
hailed as Chicago’s Guide to Fine Living. We love
the intro by author Terry Sullivan:
“Kathy Joseph is the easiest
winemaker in the world to interview. I know this because
I’ve interviewed a bunch of them, and generally
you have to fly in a cripplingly small airline seat
to somewhere very far away, rent an equally too-small
car, drive a long way into hot, hilly country and get
lost for two hours. And find someone else to pay for
it. You want to interview Kathy, the woman who owns
and runs Fiddlehead Cellars in California’s Santa
Ynez valley, you call her mother, and she sends her
to meet you two blocks from your house in the coffee
bar that you’re going to be in anyway, doing the
crossword puzzle like every other Sunday. You just look
for a woman with out-of-control hair and a mad laugh.”
He does get a bit more serious in
the article, noting “The results are intense
reds, ripe and spicy with big, balanced tannins and
dark fruit, and bright, pear and citrus-filled Sauvignon
Blanc with a lovely acidity.”
 Spotlight
Shines on Fiddlehead – well, we thought
it was going to be a story on our night harvesting!
After all, we’ve been out picking Pinot Noir,
this year starting at the cool hour of 4am, and facilitated
by our newly designed light trailer (artfully crafted
by our brilliant vineyard manager, Larry Finkle). Amazing
fruit integrity when it’s cold! Reporter Neil
Nisperos traveled with Kathy throughout the vineyard
and the cellar, and got a good feeling for the spirit
at Fiddlehead and the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. “It’s
a thrill. It’s exciting. It’s a joy”,
Kathy states in the article.
Click
here to read the full article.
Laube
Tastes Sideways Through Santa Barbara Futures
FIDDLEHEAD Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills
Lollapalooza Fiddlestix 2002
Lively acidity and delicious ripe blackberry
and wild berry fruit form a tight focus in this young
Pinot. Well-balanced, with moderate, fine-grained tannins.
500 cases made.
James Laube, Wine Spectator, March 2005
 93
Points!
Pinot Noir, Seven Twenty Eight 2001
“I got excited smelling this wine.
Dramatically toasted oak, mint, cherry compote, mocha,
spice aromas, complex and powerful. It's still young
now, altogether, a gawky puppy, but in 5 years the lush
fruit, oak, brilliant acidity and tannins will meld.
Shows great structure.”
Steve Heimoff, May 2005
 Pinot
Noir, Santa Rita Hills Fiddlestix
– Seven Twenty Eight 2001
"Deep ruby-color, black cherry,
blackberry aromas with notes of spice and cumin; big,
tannic with blackberry, cherry, plum, lots of spice,
pepper, cumin notes and a long finish. This Pinot from
Kathy Joseph has the incredible depth and concentration
I’ve come to expect from Santa Rita Hills; it
also has a wonderful silky mouthfeel and balance."
Fiddlestix
Epitomizes High Quality of Santa Barbara Pinot Noir
Laurie Daniel, March 02, 2005
"Most Santa Rita Hills pinots, including
the wines from Fiddlestix Vineyard, share an intensity
and concentration that reflect the place where the grapes
are grown. It's an American Viticultural Area that makes
sense and isn't overly broad. But I think it's instructive
to narrow the field a little further and look at the
wines from a single vineyard. In the case of Fiddlestix,
the various winemakers have put their stamp on the wines,
but nearly all the wines are dark, very concentrated,
well-structured and a little spicy. Joseph makes two
wines from the vineyard, Seven Twenty Eight ($38), named
for the mile marker at the entrance to the vineyard
along Santa Rosa Road, and Lollapalooza ($50). With
Lollapalooza, Joseph says, she's looking for the lots
that are ``the silkiest, the dreamiest, the ones with
the ultimate wow factor.''
For
the full article, click here (free sign-up required).
Fiddlehead in Film
 See
if you can spot Fiddlehead wines as they play supporting
roles on the silver screen!
Relative Strangers
Released in May 2006, this comedy is directed
by Greg Glienna and features Danny DeVito, Kathy Bates,
and Ron Livingston. A tightly wound professional (Livingston)
who, on a mission to locate his biological parents,
is befuddled to find that the couple who conceived him
aren't exactly upper-class.
 The
Sopranos
If you're hooked on The Sopranos like many of us are,
did you see that glass of wine that Tony was enjoying
on the plane? Yep, a glass of Fiddlehead Pinot Noir!
(now, if only we could get our own delicious wine on
a plane!)
 Entourage
Fiddlehead wines are woven into several
episodes of this HBO series.
 Tell
Me You Love Me
A provocative and honest exploration of
intimacy, this HBO series offers an unfiltered look
at three couples as they navigate critical periods in
their lives.
 Made
of Honor
Patrick Dempsey stars in this comedy
as a guy who is in love with an engaged woman and tries
to win her over after she asks him to be her maid of
honor. You can catch this movie in theaters beginning
May 2008.
He’s Just Not That
Into You
We were so excited
to hear that Fiddlehead wines are going to be incorporated
into this
A-list cast movie! Based on the popular book written
by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, this film is directed
by Ken Kwapis and features Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer
Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Affleck, Justin Long,
Jennifer Aniston, Drew Berrymore and Kevin Connolly
among others. Set to release in Summer 2008.
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