Proceeds go to Direct Relief, Community Health Centers, and Feed the Valley. Grassini Family Vineyards was awarded this year’s Vintner Honoree and is working to raise additional money for CHC through the holidays.
December 19, 2022 (Santa Barbara, Calif.) – The Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation (SBVF) is pleased to announce this year’s Santa Barbara Wine Auction for charity was a resounding success, raising a total of $815,000.
Proceeds will go to SBVF’s longtime philanthropic partner, Direct Relief, the Santa Barbara-based international humanitarian organization, and Community Health Centers of the Central Coast (CHC), which provides medical services to Santa Barbara’s farmworker community. Proceeds also will be donated to Feed the Valley, which works with area restaurants to end food insecurity for families in the Santa Ynez Valley.
“We could not be more proud of our vintners and friends, who dug deep into their pocketbooks to help our community,” said Jessica Gasca, President of the Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation and founder/winemaker of Story of Soil. “Our mission is Grounded in Giving, and our aim is to bring together and support the vital work of Direct Relief, Community Health Centers and Feed the Valley, which all work tirelessly to serve this historically underserved segment of our Santa Barbara wine family.”
The Wine Auction is the SBVF’s marquee charity event. Since its inaugural gala in 2000, the Wine Auction has raised more than $5.5 million for humanitarian organizations, including its longtime beneficiary and partner, Direct Relief.
Under Gasca’s leadership, the SBVF helped forge a strategic partnership between Direct Relief and CHC that began at the 2020 Santa Barbara Wine Auction and continues today.
This year’s event was held Nov. 11-12 at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, where the leaders of the Santa Barbara wine community, celebrities and philanthropists gathered for a black-tie fundraising gala. The event also included a nine-day online silent auction.
Hosted by celebrity Auctioneer Billy Harris, the evening featured a multicourse menu by Michelin-star winner Chef Daisy Ryan, owner of Bells Los Alamos and Bar le Côte, as well as artwork by local painter Delmar Léon.
Fittingly, the auction lot fetching the most was a tribute dinner to late Jim Clendenen, founder of Au Bon Climat winery in Santa Maria, who was honored during the auction. Clendenen, who passed suddenly in 2021, is credited for helping put Santa Barbara wine on the world stage.
Grassini Family Vineyards was named this year’s Vintner Honoree for its community leadership, its dedication to the farmworker community and its ongoing philanthropic efforts. Since 2012, Grassini has raised more than $650,000 for Santa Barbara’s charities though its annual Grassini Gives Back program.
The formal-dressed crowd erupted in cheers when Grassini’s CEO, Katie Grassini, announced the charity recipient for this year’s Grassini Gives Back would be Community Health Centers. Grassini then matched the first $25,000 during the auction’s lightning round, called Stand Up & Be Counted. The Stand Up & Be Counted round ultimately raised more than $127,000.
The Grassini Gives Back drive for CHC will continue through December. To donate or learn more, please visit GrassiniGivesBack.com.
From left, Auctioneer Billy Harris, Dean McKillen and Katie Grassini, Chef Daisy Ryan, SBWA Artist of the Year Delmar Léon, SBWA Auction President Jessica Gasca, CEO of Direct Relief Thomas Tighe, and Ron Castle, CEO of Community Health Centers of the Central Coast.
About Santa Barbara Wine Auction
The Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Santa Barbara Vintners and is Grounded in Giving. The biennial Santa Barbara Wine Auction is the Foundation’s marquee charity event. Since its inaugural gala in 2000, the Auction has raised more than $5 million for humanitarian organizations. The 2022 Wine Auction marked the 12th year of gathering together to support, strengthen and give back to its community.sbvf.org
