Vintners Give Back: Biennial Auction Raises Money for Direct Relief and Local Health Services

The MJ had a seat at the table, and we witnessed the power of giving back.

The Santa Barbara Wine Auction was back at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Goleta this past weekend, drawing hundreds of oenophiles who dressed up, showed up and raised their paddles up. This is a biennial party put on by the Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation, an accomplished philanthropic vehicle for our region’s viticultural community. I was lucky to be seated at the Foxen Winery table – one of close to 40 sponsored tables – and flanked by the label’s founders, Dick and Jenny Doré and Billy and Becky Wathen.

Guests scoped out the silent auction items first, from an exclusive collection of Crown Points wines to a guitar signed by the Rolling Stones. Regional bubbly flowed freely. The team from Los Olivos’ Bar Le Côte shucked hundreds of oysters.

The sit-down feast inside the Bacara ballroom featured a multi-course meal prepared by Chef Jason Paluska from Santa Barbara’s The Lark, Chef Neal Fraser from Redbird LA, and pastry whiz Lincoln Carson. Wine pours were handled by a team of star sommeliers who came in from all over the state, led by the Wine Militia’s Lamar Engel. At our table, that meant ongoing pours of bottles like Foxen’s dry-farmed 2021 Tinaquaic Vineyard Chardonnay and their 2019 Block 43 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir. Nearby, winemakers like Brewer-Clifton’s Greg Brewer, Hitching Post’s Gray Hartley and Margerum Wines’ Doug Margerum made the rounds regularly, pouring from double magnums. Other vintners spotted working the room included the Clementine Carter brand’s Sonja Magdevski, the Brander Vineyard’s Fred Brander, Stolpman Vineyards’ Tom Stolpman, Cambria Winery’s Denise Shurtleff and Presqu’ile Winery’s
Dieter Cronje.

Apropos, the Murphy family behind Presqu’ile Winery – with its state-of-the-art winery and visitor center in the Santa Maria Valley – was honored for their sustainable approach to farming and their generosity toward Santa Barbara County farmworkers; the Murphy Family Foundation has given more than $1 million to local charities focused on educational and healthcare resources for the local ag community.

But the real highlight of the night was the live auction, driven expertly by local celeb Andrew Firestone. The auction was impressive for the money it raised – a whopping $868,000! And for the lifestyle lots – like a five-night stay at winemaker Bryan Babcock’s beautiful Montecito estate; a curated winemaking experience led by Doug Margerum; an immersive vineyard experience co-hosted by the Foxen and Carhartt vineyard teams; an impressive original painting by Santa Barbara artist Pedro de la Cruz; and an exclusive gourmet dinner hosted by a team of local winemakers – including Hitching Post chef and winemaker Frank Ostini – that was sold to multiple bidders who’ll be enjoying it together next year.

But the auction wowed mostly for what it represented: an ongoing commitment by Santa Barbara County’s winemaking community to give generously, to bolster critical causes, and to effect positive change.

Currently led by Story of Soil winemaker Jessica Gasca, the Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation has been putting on this impressive gala since 2000 – this year marked its 13^th biennial gathering – and raised more than $5 million on charitable giving in the process. The primary recipient each year is Goleta-based Direct Relief, with an impressive list of benevolent causes both near and far: mobilizing disaster assistance, including after the fires that swept across portions of Ventura County last week and after the hurricanes that rumbled across the southeast last month; providing medicines to millions of low-income people across all 50 states; outfitting medical professionals who descend on disaster zones with drugs and healthcare equipment; and funding mental health programs for children and adults around the world, among many others. 

Direct Relief CEO Thomas Tighe, whose 25-year tenure as the organization’s president and CEO comes to an end in early 2025, humbly and emotionally thanked the standing room-only crowd, and to thundering cheers.

The auction also featured a “Stand Up and Be Counted” portion that raised thousands of extra dollars for Community Health Centers, a nonprofit group that runs multiple clinics and mobile medical units to provide health services to underserved communities on the Central Coast, which includes many vineyard workers.

For updates on the Santa Barbara Wine Auction, which is slated to return in 2026, keep an eye on sbwineauction.org. 

And the generous work of the Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation continues with Holiday Hope 2024, a program that benefits the vineyard worker community by fulfilling holiday wish lists; the public can participate by making donations – “Elf fees,” they’re called – and by getting matched with vineyard families in need. There’s a Vintners Golf Classic in the works for 2025, too. Find out more at sbvintnersfoundation.org.