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General Reviews

Firesteed 2001 Oregon Pinot Noir Awards

• 87 Points "Highly Recommended" - 2003 Beverage Testing Institute
• 83 Points "Recommended" - 2003 Beverage Testing Institute
• Silver: 2003 Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
• Silver: 2003 International Eastern Wine Competition
• Bronze: 2003 Dallas Morning News Wine Competition
• Bronze: 2003 Riverside International Wine Competition
• Bronze: 2002 Enological Society
• Bronze: 2002 American Wine Society
• 84 Points "Recommended" - 2002 Beverage Testing Institute
• 80 Points "Recommended" - 2002 Affairs of the Vine

Firesteed 2001 Oregon Pinot Noir Reviews

Firesteed 2001 (Oregon); $11: Like "Oregon Pinot Lite".  Good flavors.  Delightful, easy and fruity, a bit like Beaujolais.  More of a gulping wine than others, fun and exuberant, with very nice fruit.  It's hard to beat for the price.  Be sure to serve it at cellar temperature - around 55 degrees - to control its wild fruit.

"Noir by Northwest" Smart Spending, September, 2004

On the West Coast of the United States between Mexico and Canada, just three states occupy the coastline:   California, Oregon and Washington.  Washington is the home of Seattle, where the quality of life is said to be the highest in the whole union.  Creative people gravitate to California, with its liberal values, its sunny climate and its wealth.   So where does that leave Oregon?

The Pacific Northwest - Oregon and Washington - has a simplicity, a sincerity and an integrity that speaks of deep values and it is telling that wine industry in Oregon is most concerned with a grape that is perhaps the most difficult to get right - Pinot Noir.   Ah, but if you do get it right, what rewards you reap.

For all you wine lovers who relish the thought of trying something new,. I urge you to look at what Oregon has to offer.  While top Burgundies are less expensive that top clarets, they can nevertheless make a hole in your pocket.  So why not bring home a bottle of of this New World wine and apply your corkscrew to a wine that will make a marvelous accompaniment to a dinner party (roast lamb would be ideal) or simply make a fine sipping wine?

The Pinot Noir grape is forever associated with Burgundy, which is situated, as it happens, on the same line of latitude as Oregon: 46 degrees north.   The fact that Oregon grows the Pinot Noir grape so well (the wines are considered to be second in importance only to those of Burgundy) is a feat, considering the received wisdom only a few decades ago that grapes could not be grown there with any success.

True, a census of 1860 reveals the existence of wine production, and by the end of Prohibition, around 1938, when demand for the long-forbidden drink was a its peak, 28 wineries were making a million gallons.  Nevertheless, most of this was nothing more than fruit wine and not to be taken seriously.  While California forged ahead, Oregon was merely treading water.

All this changed in 1960s, when two refugees from the University of California decided to challenge the notion that vinifera wines could not thrive in Oregon.   they were joined by other winemakers who had moved north from California, looking to make a different style of wine.  The breakthrough came in 1979, when David Lett submitted his 1975 Eyrie Vineyard Pinot Noir in a competition sponsored by the French, designed to showcase the differences between French and New World wines.

The outstanding showing of the Oregon wine attracted a deal of attention and certain Robert Drouhin staged a further competition, to see whether the first result had been a fluke.  When Oregon wines continued to  show well, he put his money where his mouth was, and bought a parcel of land in the Dundee Hills, not far from David Lett's vineyard.

By the late 1980s around 70 wineries were in production, while today there are no fewer than 125.  Most of the rain falls between November and April, which is outside the crucial growing season, thus avoiding the threat of mildew, rot or simply dilution.  The musically named Walla Walla Valley is sheltered by the Blue Mountains, and good rainfall during the winter months makes this area suitable for a versatile mix of grape varieties, notably Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay as well as the Semillon and Cabernet Franc.  Oregon is never going to go down the road of mass production and budget-priced wine.  Its forte is quality and character, teamed with environmentally sensitive farming practices.

A typical Oregon winery both owns vineyards and buys grapes from specialist producers, but the vinification remains a very individual thing.  At present the debate is raging as to whether wines from single vineyard represent the future of Oregon Pinot Noir, or whether a blend from several vineyards might not give greater flexibility and quality, year on year.  As the winemaker from Firesteed put it, the single vineyard favours "the soloist over the symphony".

What are the names to look for?  Firesteed, King Estate, Rex Hill, Broadley Vineyards, Willamette Valley are all names to reckon with, while Robert Drouhin's purchase is now bearing fruit, literally, with Red Hills Estate from Domaine Drouhin.   Good independent merchants such as The Vineyard in Galway and Berry Bros & Rudd will provide the needful.

Like all the best Pinot Noirs, the wines from Oregon manifest a certain sweet perfumed fruitiness, with colour that ranges from red to deep pink.  By and large, the wines display their charms fairly young and lack the ageing potential of red Bordeaux, although there are notable exceptions.  But as you may well be tasting them for the first time, look for a bottled ready to drink right now.

"Oregon's Pinot Noir" By Margaret Hickey

87 Points "Best Buy"

Firesteed 2001 Pinot Noir (Oregon); - Firesteed's 10th vintage shows the consumer-friendly budget brand in top form.  There are tart, varietal flavors, mixing strawberry and sweet cherry fruit.  Tannins tend slightly towards earthy, and there is a hint of unripe beet in the finish.  But at the price, this is a solid, even fleshy, bottle of good juice.

"Buying Guide" Wine Enthusiast, April, 2003

Firesteed Cellars Pinot Noir (Oregon) 2001: - This is consistently one of America's finest affordable Pinots, and yet again the producer has managed to craft a surprisingly complex, nuanced, deftly balanced wine.

"Wines of the Week" The Washington Post, October, 2003

10 Top Bottles...

2001 Firesteed Pinot Noir ($10) .. A bright, light bottling from Oregon, this Pinot Noir - redolent of rip strawberries and cherries - is perenially one of the better wine buys around.  Chill it for an hour, and it's the perfect wine to take on a picnic.

"10 Top Bottles", Food & Wine Magazine, July, 2003

Aficionados of wines made from the Pinot Noir grape might scoff at this Pinot because it's not serious enough - but who needs serious when you have delicious?  As Pinot Noirs go, this one is quite light, but it's brimming with fresh berry flavor and tastes crisp and refreshing.  It's tasty enough to drink on its own, but also would be good with grilled salmon, turkey breast or stir-fry dishes with lots of vegetables.   Available at Crossroads Wine and Liquors and Yorkshire Wines in Manhattan, and Grand Wine and Liquor in Astoria, Queens. $11.50.

"Wine Pick", Mary Ewing Mulligan, The New York Times, April, 2003

Up-and-Corner, Out of Oregon

"Good Eating, Stuffed Everything" New York Times, January 5, 2003

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