Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/155925
ing down and, after discovering the Santa Ynez Valley, bought a 30-acre winery estate, which he named Lincourt, after daughters Lindsay and Courtney. But it turned out he had more work to do at Fidelity National Title Inc., the company he grew into the leading mortgage title insurer through a series of acquisitions. (Foley also was a director of CKE Restaurants, parent of the Carl's Jr. chain, and served as CEO from 1995-2000, stepping down as chairman of the board in 2005.) In 2007, he resigned as CEO of Fidelity National Inc., although he continues to serve as chairman of the company. By then he was well and truly bitten by the wine bug. Today, the Foley Family Wines portfolio includes a winery in Washington, Three Rivers Winery, and two in New Zealand, Clifford Bay Estate and Vavasour. Foley has three wineries in the Napa Valley: w w w. v w m media.com Kuleto Estate, Merus and Foley Johnson. He moved into Sonoma County in 2008, buying Sebastiani, and in 2010 purchased the Chalk Hill property. Recent acquisitions include Lancaster Estate in Sonoma County and the Langtry/Guenoc property in Lake County. Foley's business model has been to look for opportunity, buying distressed wineries and rehabbing them, as well as finding values in up-and-coming regions such as Lake County. In an every-silver-lining-has-itscloud twist, the overall improvement in wine sales means bargains are getting scarcer. But Foley is confident there are still values to be found. We asked him to tell us a little more about his rapid rise in the industry and where he's headed. Vineyard & Winery Management [V&WM] Are you done buying? Bill Foley [ BF ] I'm not done buying, but really what we're focused on is being very, very selective. I'm still out looking for vineyards in various appellations, particularly Alexander Valley; we need some cab in Alexander Valley. I'm looking at Mendocino and Lake counties because the vineyards are still fairly affordable. I'm looking around down in Paso (Robles) and in San Luis Obispo because I can get a little more value. Central Valley, Lodi, Borden Ranch, I'm kind of on the hunt down there. But I'm more vineyard-oriented now than I am brand-oriented, because I'm trying to get my vertical integration really set so that almost all of my key brands have their own source of supply. [ V&WM ] What brands in your portfolio are showing the strongest growth? [ BF ] Chalk Hill is really showing a lot of growth. It looks like the changes we made in terms of the wine that's being made and our S e p t - O c t 2 0 13 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 73