The People

Dick Doré

Founder & Director of Sales

Dick began Foxen in 1985 with his close friend Bill Wathen on his family’s land in the Santa Maria Valley. The Rancho Tinaquaic, where the winery is still located today, was purchased in 1837 by Dick’s great-great grandfather, William Benjamin Foxen. Dick gained his love of wines while living and travelling with his family throughout Europe and brought that passion for great wines back to Santa Barbara County. Dick and his wife Jenny make up the Foxen Sales and Marketing team leadership and live on one of the estate vineyards, the Williamson-Doré Vineyard, in Santa Ynez, California.

Bill Wathen

Founder & Director of Winemaking

Bill was born and raised in San Luis Obispo and graduated from Cal Poly University with a degree in Fruit Science and Vineyard Management. He began his career farming vineyards for Louie Lucas and then as vineyard manager at Chalone Vineyard. At Chalone, under Dick Graff, Bill learned French winemaking techniques and gained a love of Old World wines. In the early '80s he returned to Santa Barbara County, and in 1985 he and Dick made Foxen’s first wine on Dick’s basketball court at the Rancho Tinaquaic. Bill’s wine making philosophy has always been “… respect the vine and let the wines make themselves with little or no intervention.” Bill lives in the Santa Ynez Valley with his wife Becky.

Kaitlin, Riley, and Bingo

The Second Generation

Kaitlin Armstrong | Sales & Marketing

Riley Wathen Slack | Operations & Finance

Bingo Wathen | Winegrowing

Jenny Williamson Doré

Jenny has been involved in the Santa Barbara County wine industry for over thirty years: primarily in communications, marketing, and sales. In 2001, she left her position as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Cambria Winery to be alongside her husband Dick at Foxen. Jenny and Dick are settled in the Santa Ynez Valley where they enjoy life as growers of their eight-acre Williamson-Doré Vineyard, and travel—for both Foxen business and pleasure. When she’s not out selling wine, Jenny can be found tending her garden or playing with their many grandkids.

Becky Barieau Wathen

Becky went to college in Santa Barbara at UCSB and then graduate school at UC Berkeley led to her MBA with a focus on accounting and finance. She returned to Santa Barbara in 1982 and she and Bill were married in 1984. Becky is a self-employed CPA, specializing in the wine industry. She spends most of her working time overseeing things at Foxen, but she has several other winery clients. Becky served multiple terms on the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association board of directors, and was a founding member of the Santa Barbara County Vintners Foundation. Today she sits on the executive committee of the board of Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People. Becky is a bookworm. She and Bill love road trips and gardening together.