| 
KATHY’S CORNER
The HAPPY CANYON designation signifies
both a place and a style. The place,
Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA (achieved
November 2009), is home to six vineyards
planted 1996-2001, and is located on
the eastern edge of the Santa Ynez AVA.
Soils are low in nutrients and are a
mixture of loam and clay loam with red
and yellow chert and serpentine cobbles.
Morning fog lifts to plentiful sunshine,
and it is the ideal home to Bordeaux
(including Sauvignon Blanc) and Rhone
varietals. During Prohibition, a simple
alcohol was produced in Happy Canyon
and legend has it that folks would “take
a trip up Happy Canyon” to purchase
the beverage…and the name stuck.
In the Fiddlehead Portfolio, it is my
Sauvignon Blanc that marries fresh, ripe
fruit with creamy, silky textures, much
like a Pouilly Fumé style of the
Loire Valley. It is incredibly versatile;
it complements a huge range of flavors
and tends to be a crowd pleaser for many
palates. It certainly lives up to its
name! With cheers! KJ
printable
notes
|
|
THE VINEYARDS
& THE VINTAGE
• A blend of Vogelzang
(44%), McGinley (45%) and Grassini (11%)
Vineyards, all located in the Happy Canyon
of Santa Barbara AVA.
• A prized location for this Bordeaux-based
varietal. The warm daytime temperatures
shift the awkward “green” character
of this varietal into the succulent fruit-based
aromatics of grapefruit, pineapple, peaches
and pears. In the evenings, the cool ocean-generated
fog preserves the crisp acidity that impresses
the palate with its vibrancy.
• A cool Spring and Summer with
late August and early September heat spikes
that helped ripen the last of the fruit
to perfection. A low rainfall year that
yielded average crop size, pleasing growers
and winemakers, alike.
 • Harvested August 21 to September
3, 2009
THE
WINE
•
This signature Loire-styled wine is crafted
to highlight the predisposition of Happy
Canyon fruit toward fuller, richer wines.
• This wine achieves delicious
volume on the palate and it most eloquently
marries the benefits of fermentation at
different temperatures and in different
vessels: 1/3 is fermented cold in stainless
steel to celebrate the spice of the grape,
1/3 is fermented in tight-grain new French
oak (Damy) to celebrate the weight of the
grape and 1/3 is fermented in neutral French
oak to add harmony to the wine. The barrel
component is aged sur lies for 8 months
(much like Champagne), whereby the oak
is intentionally understated and adds mostly
to the gorgeous, textural nuances.
• This wine grows in opulence with
bottle age. Upon release, it achieves the
perfect balance between fragrance and richness,
with neither prevailing in importance.
It turns “lean and mean” into “voluptuous
and silky”. This wine is the epitome
of seamless; it’s wonderfully fragrant
and struts tropical papaya, pink grapefruit
and lemon zest aromatics with a most satisfying
silky finish. Non-malolactic.
• 1,911 cases |
