Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Soft yet dark aromas of black raspberry sorbet are lifted by star anise and wild mint aromas on the nose of this bottling. There is a rich boysenberry depth to the palate, alongside fennel pollen, rounded baking spice and a plum-skin tang.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another Sta. Rita Hills release, the 2017 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard spent 17 months in 35% new French oak. Notes of caramelized cherries, scorched earth, toasted spice, and hints of oak all emerge from the nose of this ripe, rounded, sexy effort. With sweet tannins and plenty of mouthfilling fruit, it's drinking nicely today yet will cruise for another 5-7 years.
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Wine Spectator
A creamy red, with concentrated dark cherry, kirsch and damson plum flavors, supported by vibrant acidity. Cola and nutmeg accents linger on the juicy and well-spiced finish. Drink now through 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard is pale to medium ruby with scents of bergamot, violet, pipe tobacco, lilac, saline, dust and a light framing of new oak—lots of layers. The palate is light to medium-bodied and perfumed, showing great concentration and lovely layers, with grainy tannins and good freshness, finishing with a touch of oak poking through.
Established in 1989, Fess Parker Winery is a multi-generational family owned and operated winery that has a rich heritage in Santa Barbara County. Fess Parker produces premium, small-lot, vineyard designated Burgundian varietals from the Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley as well as Rhône varietals from their organically farmed, SIP Certified estate vineyard.
Outstanding fruit sources, including some of the finest vineyards in the county, coupled with skilled winemaking, led by Blair Fox, form the foundation for the winery’s success. Now three generations in, the Fess Parker Family is proud to carry on Fess’s legacy of wine heritage and hospitality in Santa Barbara.
Fess Parker Winery was proud to be named a Top 100 Winery in the World by Wine & Spirits Magazine in both 2022 and 2023.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.