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Foxen Vineyard
SANTA MARIA
Nestled in the scenic terrain of northern Santa Barbara County, Foxen Vineyard
and Winery is run by a team that has a couple of basic principles about wine.
First, small-batch, sustainably farmed production is the best way to go. And
second, vineyard-focused wines with a straightforward, minimalist approach
offer the best results. Bill Wathen—a self-proclaimed vineyard guy—and Dick
Doré have been making wine under that philosophy since 1985, when they
founded Foxen Winery & Vineyard at the historic Rancho Tinaquaic. The pair
actually made their very first wine on Dick's basketball court.
Named after Dick's great-great grandfather William Benjamin Foxen, the
winery's story goes as far back as the early 1800s when he first came to the
area and purchased Rancho Tinaquaic. Foxen—who was also an English sea
captain—bought the land with a Mexican land grant that gave him almost
9,000 acres that is now known as Foxen Canyon. He adopted the distinctive
anchor as his ranch cattle brand, which became the apt trademark for the
company. Today, the winery and vineyards are made up of 2,000 acres of the
land purchased by Captain Foxen.
The land also houses the winery's original tasting room, endearingly referred
to as the Shack. Constructed in the late 1800s, the building was first used as
a blacksmith shop for the ranch. In 1987 however, it became Dick and Bill's
tasting room, which they ran for many years. With a much more modern
approach, a solar-powered tasting room opened in 2009 alongside the new
winery—also solar powered. It's called foxen 7200, and its focus is on Bordeaux
FACING PAGE: Sunset view of Foxen's solar-powered winery
and tasting room in Foxen Canyon.
ABOVE: Co-founders, Dick Doré (left) and Bill Wathen
(right) in the barrel room at Foxen Vineyard.
Photographs by Jeremy Ball
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
