Owner, winemaker and farmer, artist and chemist, number cruncher, marketing maestro, and head fiddle-talker; Kathy thrives on a busy schedule. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, before pursuing graduate studies in enology at the University of California, Davis. Prior to starting Fiddlehead Cellars in 1989, Kathy was employed by several North Coast wineries including Simi Winery (1981) (learning PR stuff and tasting with Zelma Long), Joseph Phelps Winery (1982) (learning about pumps, forklifts, dump trucks, and the art of wine blending under the tutelage of Walter Schug and Craig Williams), Long Vineyards (1983) (learning about viticulture and small winery details from Bob and Zelma Long) and Robert Pecota Winery (1984-1988) (learning the biz from top to bottom). Kathy’s winemaking focus is on crafting wines that speak to the place of the wines, all with gorgeous, elegant flavors and sexy, silky textures. When she’s not in the cellar encouraging each barrel to its optimal perfection, in the market gaining new devotees, or wrangling a spreadsheet at her Davis office – she is enthusiastically having a conversation with the vines at her Fiddlestix Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills.

Read the Ten Things Kathy Can’t Live Without.

Contact Kathy about National Distribution

If you’re wondering who is so cordial on the other end of the phone at “Fiddlehead North”, meet Natalie, our Office Manager. She’d be happy to converse in either English or Spanish, having graduated from UC Davis with double degrees in Communications and Spanish. She’s always put her height to good use with active involvement in volleyball clubs and programs, and hence her interest in sports marketing and promotion. Natalie currently coaches the UC Davis men’s volleyball club, loves to travel, and her interest in sports rivals her passion for fine wine. But Natalie is not limited to just managing the office. She manages our events, pours at tastings, handles special orders, and she’s your best bet to tracking down Kathy. Natalie joins the FiddleChix with enthusiasm, creative ideas, and a lust for new challenges.

email Natalie

Each wine released to Wine Club members from Fiddlehead includes a perfectly paired, mouth-watering, extraordinarily interesting recipe. These hail from the incredibly talented Babette of “Babette’s Kitchen”, also known as “Kathy’s Mom”.

Her degree is in Home Economics, she has taught interior design, done recipe development for internationally distributed food companies, she throws a great party, and is a wizard in the kitchen. She is truly a CBC (Chef Beyond Compare), and occasionally utilizes the sous chef assistance of Kathy’s dad, Burton. During those long days and nights of harvest, it is a welcome relief to the FiddleCrew to hear that Babette and Burt are coming to town.

There is no doubt that Kathy’s sense of “nose” is genetic!

Come harvest time, we call in the bench! We’re very lucky at Fiddlehead to have a tremendous support group, with spouses, relatives, colleagues and friends old and new helping out. Special mention must go to the Fiddlehead spouses who lose their wives and husbands for the two months of harvest, arriving at the winery on weekends and evenings with a cold beer, a hot meal and a helping hand. We “press” friends into service with our enthusiasm over the joy of winemaking – perhaps not realizing that being covered in sticky winegrape juice is not as romantic to them as to us!

The uber talented Coastal Vineyard Care team makes sure we have perfect clusters of grapes from our Fiddlestix Vineyard as well as our contracted acres of Sauvignon Blanc in the eastern part of the Santa Ynez Valley. And our vineyard crew, led by our talented foreman Rafael, not only look after each and every vine with care and attention, but also help out in the cellar whenever we need them with a smile and a song. We truly do have a big Fiddle Family – couldn’t do it without them all. Cheers to them!