The Santa Ynez Valley is quite a large California viticultural area located about 2 1/2 ½ hours north of Los Angeles and about 4 1/2 hours south of San Francisco. This unique transverse valley, with an east–west orientation, offers very different grape growing environments at each terminus. For every mile travelled from west to east, temperatures increase about one degree. At the eastern boundary, the “Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara” AVA is bathed in warm days and cool evenings and is well suited to the demands of Bordeaux (including Sauvignon Blanc) and Rhone varietals. In contrast are the western boundary conditions, where the very cool climate of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA benefits from the influence of the ocean fog and coastal breezes. This end is ideally suited to growing Pinot noir and Chardonnay.
Besides having ideally well-drained soiled, we love “Happy Canyon” for its spectacular weather shift. The warm daytime temperatures ripen the flavors to full maturity without sacrificing the fabulous structure of natural acidity. Specifically in Sauvignon Blanc, with our warm temperatures we achieve a most desirable shift from green, grassy aromatics to more fruit driven, slightly tropical laced aromas of peaches and pineapple. And the cool fog-laden evenings allow retention of the bright acidity admired in well-balanced wines. The exciting thing to note is that Kathy “discovered” this Sauvignon Blanc haven in 1998, well before the AVA designation in 2009. Click HEREto read more facts about the Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA.
We partner with three vineyards in Happy Canyon—Vogelzang, Grassini, and McGinley (formerly Westerly) Vineyards. To ensure they are all farmed to Fiddlehead’s exacting requirements, we require “by-the-acre” contracts, which allow us to custom farm “our” own blocks, routinely performing shoot and lateral thinning, leaf pulling, canopy management and crop reduction.
Then the magic happens… using these oh so important grape sources, Kathy creates three unique wines that simulate 3 unique and serious styles of Sauvignon Blanc, as they are made around the world. We invite you to explore our signature Happy Canyon, Hunnysuckle and Goosebury Sauvingnon Blancs.
