Foxen

While Foxen Winery was not established until 1985, its roots date back to the early 1800s when English sea captain William Benjamin Foxen settled in Santa Barbara, California. William, who was Foxen Vineyards co-founder Dick Dore’s great-great grandfather, purchased the Rancho Tinaquaic which would later be home to Foxen Winery and Vineyards. Dick and co-founder Bill Wathen shared the vision of creating small production, sustainably-farmed, vineyard-focused wines using a "minimalist" approach to winemaking. Since 1985, these two have been producing Foxen wines doing exactly that according to our Foxen wine reviews. While a number of different varieties are produced, the three Pinot Noirs which come from the Bien Nacido, Sea Smoke, and Julia's Vineyards tend to receive the highest accolades according to our Foxen wine ratings. In 2009 Foxen completed the redesign of their winery and tasting room featuring solar powered energy and was renamed “foxen 7200” where Bill and Dick now feature their Bordeaux and Super Tuscan style blends along with their Pinots, White varietal wines and Rhone style blends. Check out our Foxen Buying Guide to see which of their wines are best suited for you.