Zaca Mesa
JIM CLENDENEN REMEMBERED
JIM CLENDENEN Mind Behind AU BON CLIMAT Gone too soon, Jim Clendenen, aka Mind Behind, just passed away. Jim was an iconic legend in so many ways. He founded Au Bon Climat in 1982 which was one of the very early wineries in Santa Barbara County. He began his career working at Zaca […]
Click here to read entire article »THE OJAI VINEYARD
I recently tasted newly released wines from The Ojai Vineyard and the visited the winery to taste more wines from barrel and bottle. These include wines from the 2010, 2011, and 2012 vintages. Several of the 2010s I reviewed from barrel after my last visit. Now bottled, these wines have evolved beautifully. There are […]
Click here to read entire article »AU BON CLIMAT & QUPÉ
GREAT WINES IN THE SHED FOR OVER 20 YEARS! Last year, along with my long time friend and contributing editor Ed Lazarus, I visited Au Bon Climat, Qupé, and Chanin at the winery facility in Santa Maria. Au Bon Climat and Qupé are now pioneer winemakers in the area and start up Chanin Winery had […]
Click here to read entire article »THE OJAI VINEYARD
The Ojai Vineyard was started in 1983 by Adam Tolmach along with his wife Helen. Adam had been a partner with Jim Clendenen in starting Au Bon Climat in 1982. Prior to that time, he was the enologist at Zaca Mesa winery which was one of the early pioneer wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley. It was there that he met Jim Clendenen. He remained a partner of Au Bon Climat until 1991 as he continued to develop his winery.
Click here to read entire article »THE HOLY TRINITY OF WINERIES
THE HOLY TRINITY OF WINERIES INTRODUCTION These three wineries are housed in one facility in Santa Maria. Au Bon Climat Winery (which means “a well exposed vineyard”) was founded in 1982 by Jim Clendenen and Adam Tolmach. Qupé Winery was also started in 1982 by Bob Lindquist. Chanin Wine Company was started in 2007 by […]
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