Family-owned Foley Family Wines of Santa Rosa, California, announced that the company has changed its name and corporate identity to reflect its ongoing expansion into the distilled spirits business while it continues to grow the luxury and estate wine business that began nearly three decades ago. The new name is Foley Family Wines & Spirits (FFWS).
Bill and Carol Foley founded Foley Family Wines in 1996 after purchasing their first winery and vineyards in 1995, named Lincourt Vineyards after daughters Lindsay and Courtney. The company grew its holdings in Santa Barbara County and began to gain visibility and global distribution as it expanded into Napa and Sonoma. Foley made some of the industry’s most significant luxury estate acquisitions, such as Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards & Winery in 2010, Banshee Wines in 2018, Ferrari-Carano in 2020, Chateau St. Jean in 2021, and Napa Valley’s Silverado Vineyards in 2022.
Through strategic acquisitions and new product development, the company grew into a global portfolio of more than 20 wine brands and luxury estates in wine regions across California, Oregon, Washington, New Zealand, France, and Argentina. FFWS is the second fastest-growing wine company in the $15+ category in the US, at +11%*.
In 2023, the company expanded into distilled spirits to diversify its consumer base and complement its ultra-premium and luxury wine business, re-launching legacy spirits brands Charles Goodnight Texas Straight Bourbon and Lighthouse Gin from New Zealand. In May 2023, Foley began operating Minden Mill Distilling in Nevada, where FFWS produces High Ground Estate Vodka from grain to glass with estate-grown rye.
In April 2024, Foley was appointed the exclusive agent to import and sell family owned El Mexicano Tequila in the U.S. and globally outside Mexico. The same month, the company formed an agency partnership with The Loch Lomond Group in Scotland, an independent distiller, and blender of some of the finest and oldest Scotch whiskies in the world, as well as Champagne Piaff of Epernay. In May, FFWS added Irish craft whiskey brands Two Stacks and Killowen to the portfolio.
“We are committed to continuing to build a portfolio of spirits consistent with the quality of our ultra-premium and luxury wines and our network of estate wineries,” noted Jason Daniel, CMO. “As a natural next step, our corporate identity now reflects the breadth of our platform. We are excited about the pace of Foley’s strategic expansion and the exceptional quality and credibility of our growing portfolio of award-winning spirits.”