Jim Clendenen

Winemaker

Jim Clendenen graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with High Honors in Pre-Law in 1976. It was during his “junior year abroad” in 1974, that he discovered life beyond tacos.

Beginning with the 1978 harvest, Clendenen was assistant winemaker at Zaca Mesa Winery for three vintages, a valued training experience. In 1981 his vision broadened with three harvests in one year as Jim worked crush and directed the harvest at wineries in Australia and France. Three harvests in one year confirmed his masochistic tendencies.

In 1982, Clendenen decided, along with now ex-partner Adam Tolmach, to start his own winery in leased quarters. Au Bon Climat (which means “a well exposed vineyard”) has grown over its history to over 30,000 cases through careful re-investment from its own production. The winery has cultivated an international reputation for its Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.

Jim Clendenen, the “Mind Behind” Au Bon Climat, is recognized worldwide for his classically styled wines (in addition to his Burgundian-focused ABC wines, Jim is also highly regarded for his Italian and other French varietals). In 1989 and 1990 Au Bon Climat was on Robert Parker’s short list of Best Wineries in the World, and in 1991 was selected by Oz Clark as one of fifty world-wide creators of Modern Classic Wines.

Dan Berger of the Los Angeles Times named Clendenen the “Los Angeles Time Winemaker of the Year” in 1992; Food & Wine Magazine named him “Winemaker of the Year” in 2001. Germany’s leading wine magazine, Wein Gourmet, in 2004 name Clendenen “Winemaker of the World;” and in 2007, Jim was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s “Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.”

Jim has been the moderator for Pinot Noir Australasia in 1992 in Victoria, Australia, and the Southern Pinot Noir Workshop in 1995 and 2000 in New Zealand. He has been a donating and attending supporting winemaker at over 200 charity wine auctions and has been the Honoree at the High Museum Auction, the Akron Museum of Art, the Brooks Museum of Art, Magic Moments in Birmingham, l’Ete du Vin in Nashville, the Central Coast Wine Classic, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, the Santa Barbara Vintners’ Association Auction and many other charity wine events.

Au Bon Climat wines can be found in many of the best restaurants and retail shops internationally, or online at www.aubonclimat.com