Wine auction nets $88,000 for Church of the Redeemer

An auction of a wine collection donated by church member Hugh Culverhouse Jr. raised $88,000 to benefit Church of the Redeemer. Held online Feb. 26-29, the auction featured a selection of more than 300 top-rated wines. 

Proceeds will benefit the Church of the Redeemer’s ministries and outreach program. A large portion of the proceeds will help build a church in the Dominican Republic.

“We are grateful to Hugh for donating this incredible collection of wine,” said Church of the Redeemer Rector Charleston Wilson in a news release. “Before ordained ministry, I sold wine as a sommelier, but I never thought I would get the chance as a priest. Church should be fun, and so it is.”

The auction featured a diverse selection of wine spanning various price ranges, led by iconic offerings from renowned California winemaker David Abreu as well as Lokoya, Colgin Cellars and Morlet Family Vineyards. The top lot in the sale was a rare bottle of Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder 2013, which brought $900. There were also some bargains. A three-bottle set of ZD Pinot Noir, which normally retails for about $65 per bottle, sold for $45. 

A majority of the wines sold were rated 95 or higher. 

Culverhouse also recently donated $500,000 to the church, the largest non-capital campaign donation in the parish’s 139-year history. Culverhouse has served as CEO of Palmer Ranch Holdings, leading development of the 15,000-acre master-planned community for nearly three decades. His philanthropy has resulted in tens of millions of dollars to various community causes, higher education, mental health and social welfare initiatives.