Firestone Winery - Santa Barbara California

Firestone Winery is perhaps best known right now for its feature in the famous wine movie "Sideways". Firestone is the winery where Miles, Jack and their two female friends listen to a book review for a while - then get bored and wander back through the barrel room. It's a shame you don't get to see the group tasting the wines here, because we were really quite impressed with them when we went to visit.

What hits you first is the VAST number of vines planted here. They have more vines than many Napa Valley wineries we have visited. The vines stretch out into the rolling hills in green splendour. The winery itself is quiet and low key, nestled into the vineyard.

They create about 240,000 cases of wine each year here at Firestone, primarily of the Bordeaux varieties. Their sister winery, Curtis, handles the Rhone varieties including pinot noir. Curtis only makes about 10,000 cases a year. The tasting room is large and welcoming, with dark woods and a tile floor. There are friendly staff members on hand willing to answer any question, and plenty of delicious wines to taste. Firestone even serves the wines in Riedel glassware, pronounced REE-dell, which let the flavors shine.

We began with the 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. This is 100% stainless steel fermented and aged, giving it a big, fresh fruity flavor set. We tasted melon, guava and citrus, with a great, long finish. This would go really well with fish or pasta in a light creamy sauce. $12.

The 2005 Gewurztraminer also goes for the fresh, flavorful aspect, with mandarin orange, apply, spicy flavors. It's got a lovely balance that's not sweet at all. This would be perfect with Thai or Indian food. $12.

Their Riesling has, since day one, been 20% of the winery's total production. This "food wine" has a monster fruity nose, with an off-dry, nice full apply flavor with a hint of spice. The finish is long and delicious. Ardath, our pourer, explained "Riesling grows very easily here, and we have a very high demand. We even have to outsource for some of our Riesling and Chardonnay". That is why those two wines are labelled Santa Barbara County, not just Santa Ynez Valley.

The 2004 Chardonnay, which in fact I'm drinking as I write this review, is stainless steel fermented then finished in old depleted oak to soften it up a bit. It has a tropical fruit, honey citrus medley of flavors with a gorgeous finish. It was worth lugging home on the plane with me!

On to the 2004 Reserve Chardonnay, which is fermented in the barrel. The wine is aged on lees for up to 10 months and is 33% malolactic fermentation. It has thick tears and a honey, vanilla citrus flavor. This would go well with fall foods like smoked bacon. $15.

It was time for the reds. We began with the 2003 Syrah, with a spicy, peppery, smoky and slightly tannic flavor. There were hints of caramel, blackberry and mocha here, maybe even a taste of cherry. Bob loved the nose of this one. Ardath suggested this one with BBQ pork ribs, lamb and "Popeye's chicken". $18.

The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is 90% cabernet and 10% cabernet franc, a wine I love a lot. Ardath explained that the Santa Ynez Valley is "not hot enough for long enough to produce a big Napa Valley style Bordeaux." This had great, full flavors - spices, fruity, with a great nose and finish. This would go well with red sauces.

Next we were poured the 2002 Merlot Reserve. Ardath tasted the cab before the merlot to serve them in tannin order. This was 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc. This offered flavors of cassis, plum and dark chocolate, and would go really well with dark chocolate truffles (from Henry and David, added Ardath). This has a GORGEOUS full finish. $29.

The 2002 Vintage Reserve was next, providing the best potential for aging up to 5-10 years. This was full, complex flavors of blackberry, mocha, anise, blueberry and plum. A lovely medley. $35.

The 2003 Reserve Cabernet Franc was great, full flavored with green pepper and mild tannins, with a gentle finish.

The clear favorite of the day came next - the Rock Hollow 2003 Cab Franc. This is made from the 13 or so acres in winemaker David's back yard in Rock Hollow. It is truly great, with light tannins, delicious medleys of flavors, a super balance and a long finish.

We finished up with a 2004 Late Harvest Riesling. It had a nice, golden color and 15% residual sugar. If you think this is sweet, Ardath noted that the 2002 was at 22% residual sugar. It was full, rich and sweet, but not sticky, with tropical fruit and honey flavors, as well as hints of golden raisin and apricot. The finish was quite nice as well.

It goes to show the power of Sideways that, while we were there, someone came in clearly on the "Sideways Wine Trail" asking about pinot noir. When he was told that this winery specializes in Bordeaux grapes, he left. What a shame - since many of the wines here were far better than pinots we tasted elsewhere in this region!

I highly recommend a stop by Firestone if you make it out to this region of the world, and watch for their wines in your local shop in the meantime.

Firestone Winery Website
Sideways movie review

Santa Barbara California Wineries
California Winery Review Listing