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

The Prince of Pinot, Rusty Gaffney, joined us for FiddleFest this year and wrote an in-depth review of Fiddlestix Vineyard and the wines that are produced from its grapes. Visit the PinotFile website and read the full article - you can enter the website for free and read everything ever written about Fiddlestix including all wine reviews.

The Lompoc “Wine Ghetto” and FiddleHeadquarters continues to pique the interest of reporters near and far. Check out this recent video and report from the Ventura Star!

Kathy Marcks-Hardesty of the San Luis Obispo New Times joined us for FiddleFest. Read her comments here.

NBC’s In Wine Country made a visit to Santa Barbara County, with a feature on “The Wine Ghetto”. Also see if you can recognize Fiddlestix in this clip! Click here.

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

Read all about it at The Land of Wine & Food website.

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
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.

He’s Just Not That Into You
We were so excited to hear that Fiddlehead wines are incorporated into this
A-list cast movie which will debut in February 2009! 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.