Bill Foley, founder of Foley Family Wines and executive chairman of the Board of Directors for Fidelity National Financial Inc., announced Friday he has acquired a controlling interest in Touring & Tasting Marketing and Media, the industry leader in wine tourism.
Originally founded in 1995 by managing partner Dan Fox and president Paul Arganbright, Touring & Tasting Marketing & Media is recognized as “The Premier Guide to Wine Country.”
Touring & Tasting’s assets include the highly acclaimed national magazine Touring & Tasting, TouringandTasting.com, the Wine Country Video Channel, a wine country concierge service and a luxury Wine Festival at Sea cruise program.
The company is also a key backer of the nation’s most prominent wine tourism events, including the Wine Tourism Conference, Destination Races, the Wine Bloggers Conference, the Great American Wine Festival, the California Wine Festival and more.
“Foley Family Wines is fully committed to the growth and success of wine tourism globally,” Foley said. “It is exciting to see the positive economic impact wine tourism is having on regions and communities all over, and partnering with Touring & Tasting will help us continue to help fuel that growth.”
“We’re thrilled to make this announcement, because our partnership with Foley Family Wines is truly synergistic,” Fox said. “With Bill’s passion for the wine industry and commitment to promoting wine tourism, we now have the resources required to further expand and diversify Touring & Tasting. Our collective mission is to promote and help market the wine country businesses with whom we work. We’ll immediately be expanding our audience through increased distribution in print, online and through our mobile apps and digital editions. We’ll also be creating new content syndication partnerships and building and providing more tools to help our clients be more competitive.”
Touring & Tasting Marketing & Media is based in Santa Barbara.
“There are no plans for changes in staffing or in the way Touring & Tasting operates,” Fox said. “We’re simply combining our tools and resources with Foley Family Wines to enhance our position as the leading marketing and media company in the wine tourism industry.”