Au Bon Climat partners with other local vintners to benefit Direct Relief—plus, a special dinner in honor of jim clendenen

Yes, you can have fun while helping others! The Santa Barbara Wine Auction happens every other year to benefit Direct Relief, with the most current held in November 2022. The event allows everyone to put on their best and raise funds for the international humanitarian aid organization that is based in Santa Barbara. An amazing selection of wines, winery experiences, and lifestyle packages go up for bid to raise funds. Our local vintners always rise to the occasion, and Au Bon Climat has long been a great supporter. 

For our donation, Au Bon Climat offered a double vertical of incredibly rare wines; our Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Chardonnay, 1997 – 2020 and Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir 1997 – 2020, raising $30,000.  These wines were chosen as an homage to the history and impact both Jim Clendenen and Sanford and Benedict Vineyard have done to elevate the renown of Santa Barbara County wines.  

At that same event, Frank Ostini of The Hitching Post wanted to up the ante with a ‘go big, or go home’ donation that was a salute to his dear friend Jim. He took the reins and created a Jim Clendenen Memorial Dinner to be held at the Hitching Post Restaurant in Buellton this February with each seat costing $1000. Over 100 successful bidders will be attending meaning over $100,000 to this great cause. Most guests are close friends of Jim, traveling from as far as Tennessee, Hawaii, Georgia, and New Jersey for the tribute. Frank is coordinating a multi-course salute that includes guest chef Roy Yamaguchi from Roy’s Hawaii who is flying in to create a course, along with local chef Clark Staub from Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos.  The event features large format, library wines of Jim’s dating back to 1980s to match each course. ▲

DONATE NOW: If you would like to support Direct Relief, click below…

Direct Relief is a nonprofit that seeks to improve the health and lives of people, worldwide, affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay. The overhead is minimal, so you know your donation is going to where it is needed most.