Blair Fox, a native of Santa Barbara, started his winemaking career in
Santa Barbara County after his graduation from U.C. Davis with a degree
in Viticulture and Enology. At U.C. Davis he found he had a passion for
Syrah and other Rhone varietal wines. Upon his return to Santa Barbara
he found Santa Barbara County to be widely planted in Syrah, Viognier
and other Rhone varietals and gaining a significant amount of praise and recognition from wine writers and consumers alike. It was a natural fit
and Blair was immediately employed as Winemaker for Sunstone, a small family run winery in the Santa Ynez Valley.

After over three years of making award winning wines for Sunstone he left and traveled to the Rhone region of France for further investigation into
these extraordinary wines. He found the regions of Cote Rotie, L’Hermitage and Condrieu to be of most interest. There he tasted some of the best examples of Syrah and Viognier in the world! After this excursion he
returned to Santa Barbara only to be lured away once again. This time he became engulfed in the marvelous Shiraz of Australia. After becoming the Vintage Winemaker for Haselgrove Wines in McLaren Vale, South Australia
he fell in love with the area, wines and people of Australia. This is where he learned to believe in “terroir” and taste the earth in the wine. After this international winemaking experience, Blair felt it was time once again to return home where he found employment with Fess Parker Winery as the Rhone Varietal Winemaker. After three vintages at Fess Parker Winery he was promoted to Head Winemaker in 2005. Today he continues to craft superb Rhone varietal wines for his Blair Fox Cellars label.

Blair Fox was recently awarded the Andre Tchelistcheff Winemaker of the Year Award at the 2008 San Francisco International Wine Competition!

Blair and Sarah Fox pictured at the 2008 Vintner's Festival holding a large format bottle of their Paradise Road Syrah.