Been going here for probably a decade+++ with friends....family.....guests....etc....Been a member here for near 8 years.... I think....maybe too much wine??? Haha!!!I could name everyone for the most part....and feel the love when I walk in the door....
It was my first visit to the Solvang area wineries and It will NOT be the last! Our visit was topped by Dawn who's knowledge of wines and Firestones selections of wines was so impressive that I joined your wine club and I look forward to my first shipment of incredible wines! Thank you to the Firestone staff and specially Dawn who made our weekend Incredible!
Having had a great experience here a few months ago, we decided to return to confirm our impressions. The wines were excellent, the ambiance was great (not too crowded during the winter), and - they are dog-friendly. Jack and Winston enjoyed a snack and a bowl of water, while we enjoyed the tasting. Great place!
The tour of the winery was the best part. Of course a lot depends on the server, and the objective of ours seemed to be "fast, furious and next please". The "standard" offerings were juvenile and overpriced. The "reserve" faired a little better with the chardonay coming out on top, but our overall impression was overpriced. The Pinot noire would be knocked into a cocked hat BH for instance the clos du bios 2012, which retails for approx $12. So Firestone would not be top of my list for future tasting.
Efrain was absolutely amazing. Extremely attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. This guy could have served grape juice and it would be a 5 star review with how good he was. The wine was very good, we ended up purchasing the 2011 syrah and a 2011 cab because they were exceptional. Overall great experience.
On vacation, and was looking forward to visiting Firestones Winery.First, the guy who stood behind bar to pour us our flight of wines was terrible. I heard him tell some customers he was up all night with his 2-year old. Not a great excuse..... Then he never talked to us, or told us about the wines, unless we asked. Then, after our white wines, he poured the reds in same glass! I asked...he told me it didn't matter! What??????Last, the wines were horrible....bitter...I couldn't even finish them .So much for the pomp and circumstance of Firestone! Note my friends and husband felt exactly same way.
We have been coming here every year, forever.. Even met Brooks back in the day.. The wines were very fair... Service was just ok.. Not even thrilled with the membership any more, sad....
Took advantage of yoga in the vineyard along with a chocolate truffle and wine pairing, deliciously decadent. Dawn was very informative and helpful, great assets to the vineyard. This was followed up with a vineyard tour, where the tour leader ran through his script and was not very engaging. Wines and were sumptuous, scenery was divine.
Continuing our visits of the Foley Family properties, we next went to Firestone. Yes, it is that Firestone who was on the Bachelor. He has sold the winery properties and only concentrates on the brewery now, but there are a lot of Firestone memorabilia in the winery. We arrived, coincidentally, in time for the tour. It was about a half hour and we got to see the crushing, fermentation and barrelling rooms. We got the low down about the number of famous people who had been to the winery as well as movies and tv shows it has been used in. Being a Foley Family club member, we got to taste in the members only room. Away from the crowded tasting room, we were invited to sit at a small table near the floor to ceiling window that opened up to the barreling room. The members club manager came to our table to pour for us. We were given the member tasting flight list, but like at EOS, we were told we could taste just about anything. Not a fluke, belonging to the Foley Family club, we were two for two on the day. We spent so much time there that we didn't have time to get to the other two in the area. We are already planning the next weekend that we can come back and try the other two.
It is a pretty nice tasting room. Big & open & our favorite part was looking at all the photos (history) of the family.Nice place & everyone was friendly.It was a bit rushed of a tasting & although the girl serving us was friendly, she didn't know much- but she was learning.None of it was bad bud it was our least favorite out of 5 we went to that day.