Fiddlehead Cellars
A trailblazing woman winemaker who bet on two grapes the rest of California underrated, Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir and serious Sauvignon Blanc, and was proven right.
In 1989, when Santa Barbara wine was still finding itself and women winemakers were rare, Kathy Joseph started Fiddlehead Cellars with a clear, stubborn vision: to make great Pinot Noir and to take Sauvignon Blanc as seriously as anyone in California. She has spent more than three decades proving both.
A vision, and a vineyard to match
Kathy Joseph founded Fiddlehead in 1989 and went on to plant her own Fiddlestix Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, one of the appellation’s early and important sites, on the cold, sandy ground that makes the region’s Pinot so distinctive. She built Fiddlehead on a two-grape conviction: cool-climate Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills, and Sauvignon Blanc made with the structure and ambition usually reserved for white Bordeaux, a grape most California wineries treat as an afterthought. As one of the region’s pioneering women winemakers, she helped widen the path for those who followed.
She took the grape everyone underrated and made it sing. Then she did it again with Pinot.
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Start the quizThe wines
Fiddlehead is built on its two loves. The Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noirs, including estate bottlings from Fiddlestix, are bright, savory, and age-worthy. And the Sauvignon Blancs are something else entirely, layered and serious, ranging from crisp and zesty to richer, barrel-influenced styles that show just how far the grape can go. Fiddlehead also makes Pinot in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, giving Joseph two of the great cool-climate addresses.
What to drink it with
The Pinot Noir is a natural with grilled salmon, seared duck, or mushrooms, where its earthy side meets the plate on the same savory note. The crisp Sauvignon Blanc is a classic with fresh goat cheese, the wine and the cheese sharing the same green, grassy aromatics, and just as good with oysters or ceviche, while the richer, barrel-aged style steps up to roast chicken or grilled halibut.
Plan your visit
Fiddlehead pours in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto, the down-to-earth heart of Sta. Rita Hills winemaking. It is one of the best places to taste two grapes done with real conviction, side by side.
Two grapes, done right
Book a tasting at Fiddlehead and discover Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc from a winemaker who believed in both.
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