Jim Clendenen is a winemaker

Winemaker

A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes:*Cooperating with viticulturists...

 and the owner of Au Bon Climat

Au Bon Climat

Au Bon Climat is a U.S. based winery, founded in 1982. The winery is in Santa Maria, California. The winery produces over 30,000 cases of wine annually, including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris varietals. According to the winery's website, the primary source for Au Bon...

, a winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

 based in Santa Maria, California

Santa Maria, California

Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...

.

According to Au Bon Climat's website, Clendenen began his winemaking career working at Zaca Mesa Winery for three vintages. After traveling around the world in order to work three harvests in one year (California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

), Clendenen founded Au Bon Climat

Au Bon Climat

Au Bon Climat is a U.S. based winery, founded in 1982. The winery is in Santa Maria, California. The winery produces over 30,000 cases of wine annually, including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris varietals. According to the winery's website, the primary source for Au Bon...

 in 1982 with former partner Adam Tolmach.

Clendenen has won a number of awards for his winemaking

Winemaking

Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

and has mentored several up-and-coming winemakers.