Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1787
UP Modern history is filled with accounts of men and women who have achieved success only to find their true calling, one that brings to bear all of their innate and learned talents, later in life. This tried-and-true pattern fits vintner and Fortune 500 executive William "Bill" Foley II like a well worn pair of boots. Like his great- grandfather Charles Goodnight, a retired Texas Ranger who found his true calling as a trailblazing cattle rancher, Foley has parlayed the rewards of a stellar career as the top hand at Fidelity National Financial, Inc. for a growing empire of high-pro- file brands that now includes the historic Sebastiani Vine- yards and Winery. It's not a far stretch to compare Charles Good- night's early days of cattle driving on the Texas Pan- handle, where he and long- time friend Oliver Loving carved the trail that bears their name, to the trail that Bill Foley has blazed up the West Coast, from Santa Bar- bara to Walla Walla, Wash- ington, with the acquisition of seven wineries and a pedigreed herd of brands of his own. In the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel Lonesome Dove, writer Larry McMurtry immortalized Goodnight as Captain Woodrow F. Call and Loving as his alter ego, Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae, in a compelling saga that portrays the vagaries of human nature. Foley, with his preference for cowboy boots and his world-class golf game, might draw comparisons to the easy-go- lucky McCrae; but his knack for acquisitions and astute management style are the very qualities that drove Goodnight, credited with developing the modern cattle industry, to acquire 1.5 million acres of Palo Duro Can- yon ranchland known as the JA Ranch. A native Texan, Foley operates a working cattle ranch in Montana and has tapped his family history and the legacy of the JA Ranch in developing Foley Family Wines (FFW). Established in 1996 as the Foley Wine / the tasting panel / august 2009 story and photos by Deborah Parker Wong Bill Foley Blazes His Own Trail with Foley Family Wines In Lonesome Dove, novelist Larry McMurtry immortal- ized Charles Goodnight as Captain Woodrow F. Call, who had a knack for acqui- sitions and an astute man- agement style. Bill Foley is the legendary Goodnight's great-grandson.