When actor Fess Parker bought the 714-acre Foxen Canyon Ranch in 1988, he planned to raise a small herd of cattle, plant a few acres of grapes, and start a small family winery.
The former Hollywood star, best known for playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, wanted to build a lasting family business that could be passed down through generations, according to the official history on the Fess Parker Winery site. What started as a quiet retirement plan in California wine country has grown into a large family-owned farming and hospitality business. Decades later, that first land purchase in Santa Barbara County has grown into a diverse group of businesses run directly by Parker’s children and grandchildren. The enterprise includes award-winning vineyards, a high-end Wagyu cattle operation, boutique hospitality businesses, and a local craft brewery.
Fess Parker, who died in 2010, spent his later years working with his family on the property after leaving the film industry in the early 1970s. By keeping active family oversight across every part of the business, from managing vineyard soil to planning cattle breeding, the Parker family continues to operate the 714-acre estate as an integrated and largely self-sustaining working ranch.