Fox Farm Vineyards started in 2005 when David Fish, Desiree Neel and Thomas Ratcliff all attended a Wine Symposium (OPC) in Willamette Valley, Oregon. Thomas and David were casual industry acquaintances attending the same event, but each had many years’ experience in the world of wine employed as Sommeliers. While touring and tasting their ways through Willamette Valley, they had a conversation similar to those spoken by many other wine lovers: “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if we could make wines like this, too?”… (fast forward)
David & Desiree get married, then buy a home in the Dundee Hills which just happens to have 5 acres of land, in a prime
location, with Jory soil, and a southeast slope perfect for a vineyard.
David & Thomas seek (and secure) the services of Joe Dobbes as Winemaker and Voice of Reason.
In the following years, David acquires leases to vineyard parcels of fine pinot noir in The Dundee Hills, Yamhill-Carlton District, Ribbon-Ridge, Chehalem Mountains and Eola-Amity Hills, as well as mature blocks of Syrah grown in southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley.
Fox Farm Vineyards has slowly grown from 348 cases in our first year to approximately 1100 cases in 2015.
Our wines are not available in any stores. Only available in our tasting room or to purchase online.
David is the daily-operations guy at Fox Farm Vineyards. He is the guy researching and selecting vineyards, making the decisions on crop-loads and harvest dates, meeting and greeting folks at the tasting room, pouring wines and telling jokes, sharing the stories behind Fox Farm Vineyards, working with out-of-state distributors, and drinking lots of coffee.
Thomas has been Fox Farm’s biggest promotional force outside of Oregon. His expertise is renown among hoteliers, chefs, Sommeliers, and Master Sommeliers has gained Fox Farm Vineyards nearly immediate street-cred, and has been a letter of introduction to some of the country’s finest palates.
Fox Farm Vineyards wines are found in some of the finest restaurants, resorts, hotels and casinos in AZ, NV, CA, OR, WA, and ID. As we grow, we will continue to slowly expand to other on-premise markets
