Au Bon Climat founder to receive award
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The founder of iconic estate Au Bon Climat, Jim Clendenen, is to receive an award honouring his contribution in promoting Santa Maria Valley.
The award is being presented to Climat owner Jim Clendenen at this year’s Chardonnay Symposium in Santa Maria, California.
Founded in 1982, Au Bon Climat produces Burgundian style wines from grapes grown in the most northerly area of Santa Barbara County, which became an AVA in 1981.
‘We pioneered a style of Chardonnay that’s different than all the other bits of California. It’s bright, fresh, friendly and typical of the area,’ Clendenen told decanter.com.
‘Jim’s vision for creating balanced, elegant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from our cool climate vineyards has inspired a generation of winemakers and has brought international attention to both Au Bon Climat and the Santa Maria Valley,‘ added Chris Slaughter, Executive Director of the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country Association.
The Chardonnay Symposium will be held on 19 July for three days in the State.
For more information, visit: thechardonnaysymposium.com
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Written by Louis Villard
Louis Villard is an experienced wine writer based in Santa Barbara, California. Besides Decanter, he has contributed publications such as Imbibe, Wine-Searcher, Catavino, Zester Daily, Edible Magazine and The Santa Barbara Independent. He also writes a wine blog called Spiltwine. Formerly, he assisted winemakers at Domaine de la Sauvageonne in Languedoc and Rusack Vineyards in Santa Barbara. He was a sommelier at the Savoy Grill for Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing.