Fiddlehead Cellars at Corkbar

 

I was invited to check out Fiddlehead Cellars at Corkbar last week. Winemaker Kathy Joseph was in town from Lompoc to talk about her Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noirs. I found Fiddlehead very interesting because they make wine from grapes grown in the Santa Rita Hills (California), Santa Ynez Valley (California) and Willamette Valley (Oregon). The grapes are harvested and brought to the facility in Lompoc.

We tried the following:

 

My favorite was the Rose. Unlike other Roses, this one was almost creamy. Since we were there for the tasting, we decided to stay for happy hour. We ordered the lighter-than-air gourgeres, banh mi sliders, grilled cheese and pork chop to share.

The gourgeres are perfect for sharing.

Banh mi are Vietnamese sandwiches. I recently did a crawl in nearby Chinatown/ Little Tokyo looking for the best in the city. What I really love are the crunchy marinated vegetables and recently have seen people making their own “banh mi” creations including the fantastic banh mi poutine at the Gorbals. Corkbar’s sliders are ground pork with the pickled veg. These made the sliders stand out. I do have to agree that these are the pricier side and not on the happy hour menu. At $15, this translated to $5 a slider. It bit hard to swallow when a banh mi sandwich is $2-3.

I quite like Corkbar’s mac and cheese and their grilled cheese is pretty great. I work nearby and have coworkers who go every week for this sandwich.

If it ever warms up in California (where is our sunshine hiding?), I think this dish would be the perfect summer dish with the chilled Israeli couscous. It’s not as heavy as it looks with lemon and yogurt.

Winemaker Kathy Joseph came around holding two bottles; a 1990 Pinot Noir from California and a 2004 from Oregon. We tasted both and like all her wines, I liked them. I did have a preference for the ’04 Pinot though.

Fiddlehead Cellars host Fiddle Fest every year and it’s coming up on Saturday, June 18th. The event is at the Fiddlehead Cellars barn at Mile Marker 7.28. And it’s not just Fiddleheard Cellars who’ll be there. Hitching Post, Pali Wine, Wendell, Prodigal, Summerland and more participate. See the full list here. Fiddle Fest features wine, food and music (fiddlin’!). Part of the ticket fee benefits charity.

I had a great time at Corkbar and look forward to more winemaker nights.

Corkbar

403 West 12th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 746-0050

 

** full disclosure

The wine tasting was complimentary for myself and a guest. We paid for our meal.