It’s impossible to overstate Foxen’s importance in Santa Barbara’s wine history.

Founded in the mid-80s, long before Sine Qua Non started turning the area’s Syrah into collector must-haves, Foxen’s bold wines helped put the county on the map. They catapulted into superstardom after the movie Sideways, all while making critical darlings that still land on “Best of California” lists and garner raves from notables like Antonio Galloni and Jeb Dunnuck.

Owners Bill Wathen and Dick Doré started Foxen on Rancho Tinaquaic, a sprawling property that Doré’s great-great grandfather had purchased in 1837. Wathen came to the partnership armed with a degree in vineyard management and years of experience overseeing the vines for Louie Lucas and Chalone. Wathen and Doré—who came to be affectionately known as “the Foxen boys”—made their first wine on the basketball court at the rancho in 1985.  

Foxen is known for a deft combination of intense fruit and brilliant balance. Wine Advocate called the wines “loaded with class and personality across the board,” something that’s only possible because of the outstanding vineyards—both the one on the estate and other stellar sites in Santa Barbara County, including Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills—and the experience the winery accumulated along the way.

The planting of Foxen’s 10-acre Tinaquaic Vineyard is a topic of local folklore. In the spring of 1989, Wathen and Doré gathered up canes from already-pruned Santa Maria Valley cuttings during the evening hours and loaded them into Dick’s old orange pickup truck. (It’s for this reason that the Tinaquaic cane-collection method is affectionately referred to as volar de noche, or “fly by night.”) They planted those canes on a hillside vineyard with soils composed of clay and sand and resolved to tend their vines without a drop of irrigation.

Dry-farming is just one pillar of Foxen’s commitment to sustainability. They have been SIP (Sustainability in Practice) certified, and in 2009 they upgraded to a state-of-the-art solar-powered winery. Although a lot of things have changed since the launch of Foxen—the Civil War–era blacksmith shop and stable that once anchored the property have given way to improved winemaking facilities and a new tasting room—one thing has stayed the same: the winery’s commitment to taking a minimalist approach, putting complete trust in the terroir.