Fiddlehead Grüner Veltliner

While winemaker Kathy Joseph is best known for her work with pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, and sparkling wine, this grüner veltliner — which marks her second vintage of the lovely, tart white varietal originally from Austria — should just add to her acclaim.

Dry as a bone left under the Mojave sun, this wine begs for you to serve it with something rich (seafood in lots of butter?), so it can keep renewing your palate with a laser-beam acid core, minerality, and flavors of grapefruit, white pepper, and a finish of cucumber (almost analogous to the cukes you get in Hendrick’s gin).

Let’s hear it for locals playing with different varietals, especially in the Sta. Rita Hills, where it��s easy to go only Burgundian.