Jim Clendenen Archives - Au Bon Climat Winery

Get to Know Our Winemaking Team Part 3: Enrique Rodriguez

Published August 21, 2026August 21, 2026

Great wine is shaped by the people who dedicate their lives to creating it. In Part 3 of our four-part series, we’re honored to introduce Enrique Rodriguez – Au Bon Climat’s very first employee and a true cornerstone of our winery’s history. From joining Jim Clendenen at the beginning of ABC’s journey to becoming a part owner of the winery today, Enrique’s passion, knowledge, and commitment have helped shape the wines and the legacy we continue to build. Through decades of harvests, challenges, and memorable moments, he shares the experiences that have defined his path in winemaking and his enduring connection to ABC.

MEET Enrique Rodriguez

What first sparked your love for wine and when did you realize it could become a career?
I started working at the winery at 16 and had no wine exposure at all. I saw how Jim Clendenen had a passion for wine. I began to share his passion, and he motivated me to stay in the wine business. Its’ been 38 years and my passion for wine continues to grow.

Harvest season: adrenaline rush or controlled chaos? (Or a bit of both?)
Both, early on I would get sick every year from the stress and hard work. Now it is controlled chaos as I know what to expect and we have a bigger team. We are all in it together and support each other, so it all works.

What’s something about the wine industry that surprised you once you were on the inside?
Surprised by the level of passion for wine by Jim Clendenen, Bob Lindquist, and Jim Adelman. I had never seen anything like it before.

If you could spend a month drinking your way through one Old World wine region, where would you go and why?
Bourdeaux. I appreciate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and we drink it daily. But I love Cabernet, specifically Bourdeaux.

Do you have a personal or “secret” wine project outside of your day-to-day winemaking?
No, nothing on my own. But I take great pleasure in maintaining Jim Clendenen’s passion and wine style.

What’s your guilty pleasure food?
Sushi, I could eat it every day. For many years at the end of harvest, the winemaking team would all go to Artati-Ya in Santa Maria and eat sushi for hours. Clendenen took me to Uraswa in Beverly Hills. The sushi was amazing, and it was one of the best meals of my life.

Stay tuned for the final installment of our series, coming in our November newsletter.

November 2025 Wine Club Newsletter

Published October 22, 2025October 22, 2025

The Latest from Au Bon Climat

Scroll through for the latest news and updates from Au Bon Climat and as always, find the tasting notes and details for the wines featured in your November Wine Club Shipment below!

Click THE IMAGES BELOW to view our featured content & SCROLL FOR MORE INFORMATION ON YOUR November WINE CLUB SHIPMENT…

Homemade Creamy Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese and Spices

November add-on specials…

WINE CLUB EXCLUSIVE ADD ONS

Enhance your November club shipment with limited wines chosen from our cellar – available à la carte for your upcoming shipment. Stock up as the Holidays approach…take advantage of flat rate shipping with our wine club offers. Click here to add these exclusive bottles to your shipment…

BONUS ADD ON OPPORTUNITY

The 2021 Au Bon Climat “Larmes de Grappe” Pinot Noir has earned its place among the best—recently named in the Top Ten American Wines by Decanter. A remarkable recognition for a wine that captures the essence of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Au Bon Climat’s unwavering dedication to excellence. We’ve been saving this wine for our members—take advantage of the opportunity to add this special wine to your cellar before it sells out!!

Mark your calendars: Deadline to add on is October 31st, 4PM

Exclusive Access to the following Wines:

2013 Clendenen Family Vineyards “Bricco Buon Natale” Nebbiolo
2017 Au Bon Climat Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Chardonnay “32nd Celebration”
2014 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir “Knox Alexander”
2015 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir “Knox Alexander”
2013 Au Bon Climat Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir

How to add wines to your shipment:

1. Sign into your membership profile–click here

2. Select “Edit Wines” in the upper right corner of your membership profile

3. Choose your desired wines or bundle

4. Click ‘Save Selection’ at the top

5. View total breakdown including shipping discount under ‘TOTAL’

ADD-ON DEADLINE IS October 31ST AT 4PM PST

If you would like to add on wines not featured in your club portal, please contact us. Email wineclub@aubonclimat.com or call 805-883-8165.

Included in this Shipment…

2022 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay Runway Vineyard

Runway Vineyard is worthy of its vineyard-designated Chardonnay bottling. This wine captivates with a rich nose of coconut cream, walnut, and toasted barley, while vibrant notes of yuzu and honeysuckle shine on the palate. With impressive mid-palate weight and a finish of oak spice and white chocolate meringue, it’s a refined testament to our close-knit relationship with this exceptional vineyard.

2024 Clendenen Family Vineyards Chenin Blanc

A Loire Valley classic, found a new home when Jim Clendenen planted Chenin Blanc at Rancho La Cuna in 2015. This vintage is remarkably expressive, with aromas of lemongrass, honeysuckle, green mango, and white currant. On the palate, bright green apple leads, framed by jasmine and lemon madeleine. Lean acidity gives way to a silky finish from sur lie aging.

2024 Clendenen Family Vineyards Dr. Gonzales Riesling

Whether you know him as Mige, Miguel, or “Dr. Gonzalez,” you certainly know his smile-and now you can taste his love for Mosel-style Riesling. This vibrant wine opens with notes of strawberry lemonade, unfolding into layers of flint, pine, and Honeycrisp apple. Bright acidity and chalky minerality keep the off-dry style refreshing and complex. Crafted under Miguel’s careful hand from vineyard to bottle, it’s delicious today and promises even more charm with time.

2021 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir “Knox Alexander”

“Knox Alexander” Pinot Noirs are meant to encapsulate the best selection of fruit from our estates in a structured and complex fashion. 2021 is the first vintage to include some fruit from our founding estate in Los Alamos, Rancho La Cuna Vineyard. Knox exhibits a refined profile with notes of ripe strawberry, delicate black tea, hints of lilac, and notes of hibiscus. Passion fruit floral components add a graceful touch. The palate experience is enduring, as the once prominent tannins from wood components have now evolved into a silky texture, promising further integration and refinement with time.

2023 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard

Bien Nacido Vineyard has been at the heart of Au Bon Climat since the early 1990s. Our deep connection to this historic vineyard includes custom blocks and on-site production, giving us unmatched access to its world-class fruit. From this renowned vineyard, this vintage is marked with aromas of strawberry and dragonfruit, accented by brandy-soaked fruitcake. On the palate, cranberry and blackberry mingle with sage and black pepper, embodying Pinot Noir’s hallmark tension—elegant yet bold, refined yet expressive.

2021 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Rancho La Cuna

Pinot Noir from Los Alamos balances vibrancy and complexity, where aromas of cranberry, dried cherry, and lilac blend seamlessly with flavors of cola and licorice. A well-structured wine with a textured mouthfeel, it reveals subtle notes of orange zest and flint, leading to a finish enriched by grippy oak tannins. Crafted from the estate fruit of the Rancho La Cuna Vineyard in Santa Barbara County, this wine promises a layered, contemplative experience.

2021 Au Bon Climat “Larmes de Grappe” Pinot Noir

Our 2021 Larmes de Grappe Pinot Noir has been named one of Decanter’s Top Ten American Wines of 2024, earning an outstanding 98 points.

Perfumed floral, spice and savory notes emerge from beneath fruit that suggests red cherry, plum, rose petal, mint and blood orange. It is a well-structured, complex red that is also silky, and elegant. 100% whole cluster fermentation and 20 months age in new François Frères French oak 350-liter barrels helped to build this outstanding Pinot.

This special wine is included in the upcoming shipments for our 6- and 12-bottle members. We encourage members to stock up while it’s available, especially our 3-bottle members who will not automatically receive it in their allocation. Quantities are extremely limited, and this is a vintage destined to become a collector’s favorite.

FALL PICK UP PARTY

Join us Sunday, November 9th, at the Tasting Room for our annual Fall Pick-Up Party! Celebrate the season with delicious wines, hearty bites, and great company.

This year, Oak and Fire BBQ will be serving up their signature Tri-Tip Sandwiches, sweet corn on the cob, and creamy mac & cheese, all included with your ticket. Meanwhile, we’ll pour a curated selection of special wines from our cellar:

2022 Chardonnay, Nuits-Blanches au Bouge
2005 White Blend, Hildegard 1.5L
2018 Pinot Noir, Les Révélés
2022 Pinot Noir, Isabelle
2015 Pinot Noir, Knox Alexander 1.5L
BONUS POUR: 2021 Wild Boy Chardonnay, available only at the Tasting Room.

Event Details:

Two Sessions: 12:00–2:00 PM & 2:00–4:00 PM
$20 per person – Members may bring friends (up to 6 tickets per member)

Exclusive, One-Day-Only Member Perks (In Person Only):

3-Bottle Members: 25% off wines & merch
6-Bottle Members: 30% off wines & merch
12-Bottle Members: 35% off wines & merch

ABC AFTER HOURS

Don’t Miss the Last ABC After Hours of the Year!

The year is flying by, and there are only two chances left to join our monthly ABC After Hours series! Enjoy an evening of great wines, light bites, and good company from 5:30–7:00 PM.

November 28th: Celebrate the season with 2005 Magnums – a perfect start to your holiday festivities.
December 19th: Blue Series Pairing with Marley Confections – a decadent ending to the year.

Spots are limited, make sure to RSVP and toast with us before the year ends!

RESERVE YOUR SPOT HERE

NEW SHIPPING for 12-Bottle Members!

We’re excited to share some great news for our 12 bottle wine club members! After working closely with our shipping partners to negotiate better rates, we’re now able to offer a $25 flat-rate shipping on all club orders for our 12 bottle tier.

This change reflects our ongoing commitment to providing exceptional value to our most dedicated members. Whether you’re in California or across the country, you’ll now enjoy predictable, affordable shipping on every club shipment.

We’re grateful for the loyalty of our wine club family, and we’re always looking for ways to enhance your experience with Au Bon Climat. Here’s to many more years of sharing our passion for world-class wines with you!

Questions about your membership? Reach out to our wine club team anytime. wineclub@aubonclimat.com or call (805) 883-8165

HOLIDAY BUNDLES COMING SOON

Au Bon Climat's Candy Cane Wine Gift Set - a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white wine in front of the fireplace and the Christmas tree

The season of giving is upon us, and Au Bon Climat’s holiday gift sets are the perfect way to share the joy of exceptional wine. Thoughtfully curated and beautifully packaged, these limited offerings will be available soon — just in time for holiday gifting.

Images from Harvest 2025

2023 Bien Nacido Historic Vineyard Pinot Noir

Published October 21, 2025October 22, 2025

Au Bon Climat and Bien Nacido Vineyard have shared a symbiotic relationship for decades. Our winery is located on the vineyard, and Bien Nacido has long been our primary source for grapes. The vineyard’s reputation as a world-class site was cemented when our 1990 La Bauge Pinot Noir earned a 93-point score.

In the wake of the movie Sideways, which triggered an explosion of Pinot Noir plantings on the Central Coast, founder Jim Clendenen established the Historic Vineyard Collection. This initiative was created to honor and highlight the foundational vineyards that originally brought credibility to Santa Barbara County wines. As a result, the collection featured vineyard-designated bottlings of both Bien Nacido Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The 2023 Bien Nacido Historic Vineyard Pinot Noir is a delicious wine, sourced from Block 3. Planted in 1996, Block 3 is one of the oldest remaining Pinot Noir blocks, providing the fruit with exceptional “Old Vine” character. The Pommard clone, introduced from Burgundy in the 1950s, yields a wine of great depth and structure. This wine is beautifully balanced with elegant aromas of spice and herbs and a vibrant acidity, ensuring the wine’s remarkable age-worthiness.

The Clendenen Legacy Continues at Au Bon Climat

Published October 14, 2025October 14, 2025

Knox & Isabelle Clendenen working hard during the 2025 harvest

Four years after the passing of founder Jim Clendenen, the visionary known as “The Mind Behind” Au Bon Climat, the Santa Barbara County winery continues to thrive under the leadership of his children Knox and Isabelle Clendenen. Together with longtime team members Enrique Rodriguez and Jim Adelman, the next generation is carrying forward the legacy of producing world-class Burgundian-style wines that put Santa Barbara on the global map.

The Clendenen family’s spirit of hospitality and mentorship remains at the heart of the winery. From the legendary communal lunches to the meticulous craftsmanship in the cellar, Knox is learning every facet of winemaking while Isabelle travels the world sharing Au Bon Climat wines with new audiences.

The team’s dedication to Jim’s original vision ensures that Au Bon Climat, meaning “a well-exposed vineyard,” continues to reflect the same passion, generosity, and excellence that have defined it since 1982.

Read how Isabelle and Knox are honoring their father’s legacy in this fantastic write-up in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Read Full Article