Firestone Vineyard

Firestone Vineyard is a family-owned estate winery specializing in fine wines from California's Central Coast founded in 1972 as Santa Barbara County’s first estate winery. Firestone Vineyard is one of the wineries along the famous Foxen Canyon Wine Trail.[1]

Firestone Vineyard
Firestone Vineyard logo
LocationCalifornia, United States
Opened to the public1972
Websitefirestonewine.com

History

Firestone Vineyard was founded by members of the Firestone family in 1972, as Santa Barbara County's first estate winery. The winery was designed by Richard Keith & Associates, architects.[2] The winery is located in the heart of the rural Santa Ynez Valley near the town of Los Olivos in Santa Barbara County. It includes a barrel cellar, fermentation cellar, crush pad, tasting room and bottling line for full production from the vine to the bottle. The winery is surrounded by 500 acres (2.0 km2) of estate vineyards. In early 2007, Firestone Vineyard opened a companion winery in Paso Robles, with a focus on small lots of Bordeaux varietals from select local vineyards.

William P. Foley acquired Firestone Winery and surrounding 400 acres (1.6 km2) of land (300 acres under vine) in early August 2007 as part of a plan to expand his portfolio of small specialty wineries up and down the western coast (he owns Foley Winery in the Sta. Rita Hills).[3] As part of an evolving brokering of the deal, the Paso Robles facility - initially planned to stay in Firestone hands - was also purchased by Foley.

Firestone Walker Brewing and Curtis Winery, will remain in the hands of the Firestone family. Curtis Winery focuses on Rhône wines from Ambassador's and Crossroads vineyards (Firestone family owned, and retained in the deal) and Voglezang vineyard (independently owned).

As of July 2008, William Foley II remains the proprietor of Firestone Vineyard. Currently, Lorna Kreutz is the Director of winemaking and Daniel Spratling is the Associate winemaker.

Climate

Vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley benefit from the unique east-to-west orientation of the surrounding mountain ranges which extends the growing season and encourages the development of balanced and flavorful grapes.

Firestone Vineyards estate vineyards have an alternating climate of warm afternoons followed by cooler coastal evenings. Temperature swings of up to 50 degrees are normal during the summer growing season which results in a long growing season. The estate vineyards soil is composed of gravelly loam with rocky subsoils. Well-draining soils are ideal for winegrowing.

Paso Robles Winery

The Firestone Paso Robles winery focuses on small lots of Paso Robles-grown Bordeaux, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.[3] The winery is located at the corner of Highway 46 East and Airport Road near downtown Paso Robles and features a tasting room, barrel cellar, enclosed patio, estate vineyard and terraced gardens with picnic accommodations. Initial production is 4,000 cases annually.

Firestone Vineyard Paso Robles, was opened in early 2007. Firestone Vineyard purchased Paso Robles fruit for several vintages, and the quality of the resulting wines was enough to make the decision to establish a new winery. Firestone Vineyards affiliated company Firestone Walker Brewing Company relocated its brewing operations to Paso Robles in 2001. The Paso Robles winery is managed by Andrew Firestone.

Paso Robles resides 25 miles (40 km) inland from the coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco in northern San Luis Obispo County. The coastline is bordered by the Santa Lucia Mountains, which trap heat during the daytime. In the evening coastal air moves through the Templeton Gap. This climate pattern is ideal for Bordeaux production.[4]

Estates

Firestone Vineyard also manages a collection of estates on California's Central Coast.

  • Curtis Winery: Founded in 1995, Curtis Winery is a small winery which produces Rhône-style wines. Situated in Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley.
  • Firestone Walker Fine Ales: Founded in 1996, Firestone Walker Fine Ales is a regional brewery.
  • Prosperity Wines: Prosperity Wines was founded in 1991 by Brooks Firestone.

References
  1. Polizzi, Donna (November 9, 2017). "Christmas on the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail ... don't miss it!". Santa Ynez Valley News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  2. Prial, Frank J. (July 23, 1978). "A Winery in the Making". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  3. Selvin, Molly (August 18, 2007). "Family sells Firestone Vineyard". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  4. Wilmer, Tom (February 10, 2017). "The art of grape growing and winemaking at Templeton's Victor Hugo Winery". KCBX. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
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