Many people have heard about Fiddlehead Cellars Sauvignon Blanc from one of the most well-known wine movies of all time: Sideways. Dialog between the main characters reveals that the winemaker — that’s industry veteran Kathy Joseph — ages the wine in oak. French oak. (Check out the clip here.)
It’s worth a mention in the movie, which accurately captures Joseph’s methods, because much Sauvignon Blanc on the market today is vinified to show green, citrus, tropical, or zesty orchard flavors. When Joseph employs oak, she does so to bring out a side to the variety that many people don’t expect.
“The conversation around Sauvignon Blanc seems to happen less,” says Joseph. She’s comparing it to other grapes, such as Pinot Noir — the focus of the Sideways movie as well as one of her other favorite varieties. “But I’ve put in a lot of years discovering why it’s special.”
Joseph founded Fiddlehead Cellars in 1989 and though she’s sold her Fiddlestix Vineyard, which she planted herself in the mid-90s, to focus on what she calls “another discovery period” for herself and her wines, she’s still dedicated to the Santa Barbara County terroir that helped her carve out her niche. Considered to be a pioneer of the region, Joseph worked with some of today’s most sought-after growing areas before they’d even earned an official appellation status, particularly Happy Canyon at the eastern boundary of the Santa Ynez Valley. “I’m still looking for ways to grow a legacy for myself and for Santa Barbara,” she says.
Kathy makes around 20 wines, and Sauvignon Blanc isn’t her only medium, but she’s fined-tuned the making of this variety in such a way that it embodies her talent and dedication. She says that her focus on Sauvignon Blanc dials in on “stylistic diversity” which she achieves through a thought-out barrel scheme as well as extended bottle aging. “Barrel age is built into the program,” says Joseph.
For example, ‘Happy Canyon’ 2016 Sauvignon Blanc is the current vintage of this wine and ‘Hunnysuckle’ 2012 Barrel Select Sauvignon Blanc, which is also current, is clocking in at ten years old. “Ageablity should be an advantage,” says Joseph.
Photo courtesy Fiddlehead Cellars, credit: Fran Collin Photo
She doesn’t destem her fruit, which is pressed as whole clusters, and she doesn’t permit any skin contact during fermentation. While her wines are in the cellar, Joseph does barrel tastings almost daily. She says this is necessary to stay on top of the progress of fermentations. Of blending trials she asks herself: “How does this improve the wine and make it more exciting.” She leans on the barrel selection process and says that “nothing is predetermined without blending, tasting, and patience.”
Consumers who haven’t tasted a Sauvignon Blanc of this style might be surprised. They are supple and full of texture, with a purity of fruit that lacks the bold “green” flavor that some have come to expect from the variety grown in other parts of the world. Joseph credits some of this to terroir, of course, yet she’s traveled to other Sauvignon Blanc stalwarts and noticed the relied upon growing methods — such as variance in trellising and canopy management — and she notes that these things play a part in the character of a region’s wine. “Of all the varieties, it has this great range.”
She says her tasting room is her “educational tool” — a place where the dedicated and doubtful can both experience a different side of Sauvignon Blanc. “What can I do that will provide another option that isn’t already out there?” she asks herself.
For a person that seems to have all of her methods in place, she credits her years of experience for revealing what Fiddlehead Cellars is today. Her enthusiasm about all of her wines, and for sharing them with others, is clear. From the friends who walk into her tasting room, to people like Sideways director Alexander Payne (who she invited into the winery to work on punchdowns) everyone is welcome into her Sauvignon Blanc experience. “None of this was designed,” says Joseph. “It was discovered.”