Firestone family sells winery

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Firestone Vineyard, one of Santa Barbara County’s largest and most storied wineries, has been purchased by William Foley II, who already owns several hundred acres of vineyards in the county and two local wineries.
The price of the acquisition was not disclosed, but Alan Phillips, general manager and winemaker for Foley’s two other wineries, Foley and Lincourt, said the purchase includes 300 acres of vineyards, the Firestone brand, the winery and production facility as well as an estimated 250,000 cases of unsold wine inventory.


“We are in the final stages of closing [the deal] up,” Phillips said. “All conditions have been met and all parties are in agreement. For all intensive purposes its a finished deal.”
Foley is chairman and chief operating officer of Fidelity National Financial, Inc., which has posted gross revenues of $9.4 billion so far this year, making it America’s largest 264 largest corporation, according to a ranking by Fortune 500.
Phillips said the purchase represents the next step in building Foley’s dream: a “wine empire” that consists of multiple brands and great wines.
Phillips said Foley and Lincourt each produce about 12,000 to 14,000 cases annually, the majority of which is Pinot Noir and Chardonnay -- two varietals that have brought a significant amount of praise and attention to Santa Barbara County.
Phillips said the Firestone label will expand Foley’s wine portfolio to include the likes of Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot.
“We’re doing it for reasons of economy and scale and sales force and pricing,” Phillips said. “It makes sense.”
According to Phillips, the Firestone brand has carved out a place for itself in the market place. As a result he said combining Foley and Lincourt with the Firestone list of wines will create more “traction” and influence over wine distributors.
Adam Firestone, wine grower for Firestone Vineyard, said the deal transpired because his family is moving in many directions and that the deal made sense.
“We decided to pass the baton off and let somebody run with it for a while,” Firestone said. “Bill Foley’s the right guy. He’s committed to the area and the direction.”
When asked if he thought the conglomeration of the wine business posed any sort of threat to the quality and small feel that Santa Barbara County wineries have established, Adam Firestone said size isn’t the issue.
Adam Firestone said maintaining the integrity of the local wine industry hinges not on whether a winery is large or small, but more on whether wineries continue producing wines that showcase the characteristics of grapes grown in the area.
“If you took wine grapes from a hundred different vineyards from all over the world and put it together you’re killing the wine industry,” Adam Firestone said.
The first Firestone vineyard was planted in the Santa Ynez Valley in the early 1970s by Leonard Firestone, the father of Third District Supervisor Brooks Firestone. Once Brooks Firestone moved to the area, the Firestone winemaking operation was established.
Adam Firestone said his father Brooks was open to the idea of selling the family’s flagship venture.
“He’s got the scar tissue from the early years getting this industry going,” Adam Firestone said. “That’s part of his legacy. That won’t ever change.”
Like Adam Firestone, who said he plans to focus on the family’s other alcoholic beverage related venture, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Brooks Firestone is putting his full-time focus at the moment on politics.
“He’s so happy and motivated for what he’s doing,” Adam Firestone said. “He saw the logic of the whole deal and he embraced the whole deal.”
This isn’t the first time Foley has done business with the Firestones.
In 1997, Phillips said Foley purchased J. Carey Cellars from the Firestone clan. Foley used the former J. Carey facility, which is located on Alamo Pintado Road in the Santa Ynez Valley, to establish the Foley brand. This location now houses the Lincourt label.
The Foley operation has since moved to a sprawling, 500 acre site on Highway 246 located in the Santa Rita Hills appellation.
Despite selling their namesake winery, the Firestones will remain entrenched in the wine business with their other labels that include Curtis Winery in the Santa Ynez Valley and a new wine venture in Paso Robles that Adam Firestone said has not yet been officially unveiled.
Phillips said the exchange is expected to close escrow in September. As a result, he said there have not yet been serious discussions about what sort of changes, if any, will be undertaken at Firestone Vineyard.
Phillips did say that Foley plans to continue making 125,000 to 250,000 cases of wine each year under the Firestone label, and if all goes well, make it better.
“Our goals are to improve aspects of viticulture, to improve aspects of production and try to make the best wine in that category,” Phillips said. “That’s what we want to do.”