in the press

                        In the early years Kathy frequently submitted her wines for review.  It was a necessity as a new kid on the block, 
                        but it was disheartening to see the inconsistency of reviews of the same wine – rave commentary by one and mediocre 
                        reception by another. After judging years of wine competitions, Kathy knows first hand that “blind” tastings are a matter of 
                        interpretation and there is an amazing amount of bargaining that drives awards.  It is difficult for us to embrace solo 
                        opinions and negotiated reviews, often awarded by unqualified judges and skewed rules. 

                        So in reaction, today Kathy encourages you to be the judge. She hopes you will experiment with your palate and discover 
                        new and exciting flavors without the influence of slanted press.  We present you with a challenge – to indulge in our wines 
                        and enjoy the beauty of their textures and ageability.  Our best reviews are testimonials from wine drinkers who have 
                        discovered our wines and tell us about their experience rather than just rating them with number.  Check out our 
                        testimonials page and leave your own!  

                        Of course, we appreciate the reviews below.

​Santa Barbara Wine Country: Appellations And Region’s Layout Sta. Rita Hills AVACreated in 2001, this AVA was known as Santa Rita Hills up until 2006, when the name was changed to Sta. Rita Hills because a Chilean wine producer called Viña Santa Rita objected to the original spelling. This is the westernmost AVA and has direct access to the cool ocean breeze. The hills act as narrow corridors and the breeze shoots through them, creating a cool climate in this wine-growing area.
There are 20 cool-climate wine grapes planted here. The majority of the plantings are Pinot Noir and a good portion is Chardonnay. The sites in Sta. Rita Hills make a distinct difference in the flavor profiles of these two grapes. In Chardonnay, expect to find mineral, smoke, or flint characteristic. For Pinot Noir wines, most are rich and concentrated with red fruit accent. There tends to be more stem inclusion used in the vinification of Pinot Noir here, which can lend interesting flavors and tannins to the wines. Pinot Noirs, especially the single-vineyard bottlings, that bear this appellation are said to perform better after five years of barrel and bottle aging.
Total Area: Over 30,000 acres
Planted Area: ~2,700 acres
Notable Vineyards: Acin, Ampelos, Babcock, Cargasacchi, Clos Pepe, El Jabali, Fe Ciega, Fiddlestix, Hapgood, John Sebastiano, Kessler-Haak, La Encantada, La Rinconada, Lafond, Machado, Melville, Mt. Carmel, Rita’s Crown, Sanford and Benedict, Sea Smoke, Sweeney Canyon, Zotovich
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar,  Nov/Dec 2012

2009 Pinot Noir Seven Twenty Eight Fiddlestix Sta. Rita Hills - 92pts
2009 Pinot Noir Lollapalooza Fiddlestix Sta. Rita Hills - 92pts
2008 Pinot Noir Seven Twenty Eight Fiddlestix Sta. Rita Hills - 91pts
2010 Sauvignon Blanc Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara - 91pts
2009 Sauvignon Blanc Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara - 91pts
2006 Pinot Noir Seven Twenty Eight Fiddlestix Sta. Rita Hills - 90pts
2011 Sauvignon Blanc Goosebury Santa Ynez Valley - 90pts
2007 Sauvignon Blanc Hunnysuckle Santa Ynez Valley - 90pts
 
Wine & Spirits, April 2012
93 points awarded for The Year's Best Pinot Noir  to
2008 "Seven Twenty Eight" Pinot Noir
2008 "Oldsville Reserve" Pinot Noir


Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

2008 Sauvignon Blanc Happy Canyon Santa Ynez Valley Green-tinged yellow. Expressive aromas of pear, lemon pith and melon, with lively notes of chalk and white pepper. Vibrant citrus and pit fruit flavors are given spine by zesty minerality and pick up honeysuckle and baking spice notes with air. Pure, racy sauvignon with very good finishing clarity and tangy persistence. 90 points

2010 Sauvignon Blanc Goosebury Santa Ynez Valley Light yellow. High-pitched aromas of lime zest, jasmine and spices. Sappy, floral-accented citrus and pear flavors show very good depth and a refreshingly bitter quality on the back half. This dry, bright sauvignon finishes clean and taut, with a spicy edge. 90 points

2007 Pinot Noir Seven Twenty Eight Fiddlestix Sta. Rita Hills Bright red. Intensely perfumed scents of strawberry, black raspberry and potpourri, with a touch of smokiness. Bright, incisive red fruit flavors show very good depth, with a note of candied flowers emerging with air. Finishes silky and very long, with repeating raspberry and floral notes. This is delicious right now but has the depth and structure to age. 92 points

The Spirit of Entrepreneurship Foundation's Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards aim to recognize the contributions of outstanding women entrepreneurs in Santa Barbara County.

In May 2014, Kathy won the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award for Agriculture and Wineries.

Click HERE to read the whole article
Click HERE to learn more about the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Foundation

Santa Barbara SEASONS magazine journeyed to our very own Fiddlestix Vineyard to highlight
6 female Santa Barbara County winemakers in their video and article "Women of WIne".

To learn more about Kathy's role as a female pioneer in the wine industry,
click HERE to watch the video clip
click HERE to read the article by K. Reka Badger
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.


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.
The California Wine Institute and the California Travel & Tourism Commission partnered to promote the state's wine & cuisine offerings. Kathy Joseph was invited to make a debut as one of a select few wine representatives for this National campaign.  Watch the video HERE!


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.

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…"
Click HERE to read the entire article.
Wine Enthusiast had the following to say about the 2005 Lollapalooza Pinot Noir.
“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." - S.H. Wine Enthusiast, Editor's Choice

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" .