The days of wine and title

Times may be tough in the title insurance industry -- second quarter profits at Fidelity National Financial were down 36 percent from last year -- but company CEO William P. Foley II is making more wine than ever.

Foley just bought the Firestone Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley (located in the California Central Coast wine growing region that's the backdrop for the movie Sideways), and is also looking to for opportunities to buy vinyeards in California's Sonoma and Napa counties, and Oregon and Washington, the Lompoc Record reports.

According to Foley's official bio on the FNF site, he's the founder and managing partner of LinCourt Vineyards, and also of Foley Estates Vineyard and Winery, which bought the Firestone Vineyard.

While title insurance and wine making might seem a strange match, Foley is a West Point graduate who served in the Air Force and has degrees in engineering and law -- not to mention an MBA he picked up along the way in 1974. Apparently, he's used to succeeding at whatever he sets his mind to.

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