Wine auction raises $88,000 for Church of Redeemer

600 bids placed on wines donated by Culverhouse

The Church of the Redeemer stands on Palm Avenue in downtown Sarasota. File photo

The Church of the Redeemer’s inaugural wine auction raised $88,000, with more than 600 bids placed and 90% of the donated wine sold, the church has announced.

Held online from Feb. 26 through Feb. 29, the auction “featured a curated selection of more than 300 top-rated wines” donated from the personal collection of parishioner Hugh Culverhouse Jr., a news release notes. “The proceeds of the auction will benefit the Church of the Redeemer’s ministries and outreach program. A large portion of the proceeds will help build a much-needed church in the Dominican Republic,” the release points out.

“We are grateful to Hugh for donating this incredible collection of wine,” said Father Charleston Wilson, the rector of the Church of the Redeemer, in the release. “Before ordained ministry, I sold wine as a sommelier,” Wilson added, “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 wines with a broad range of prices, “ensuring there was something to suit every budget and preference,” the release adds. “Led by iconic offerings from the renowned California winemaker David Abreu as well as Lokoya, Colgin Cellars and Morlet Family Vineyards,” the auction achieved results that “underscored the quality of the collection offered,” the release continues.

“The top lot in the sale” was a rare bottle of Lokoya cabernet sauvignon Mount Veeder 2013, “which fetched $900,” the release says. A set of three bottles of ZD pinot noir, “which normally retails for about $65 per bottle,” was auctioned off for $45, the release says.

Most of the wines sold were rated 95 or higher, “with 100 considered a perfect rating,” the release notes. “Ratings are a way for wine critics, sommeliers and publications to review quality of wine for consumers,” the release explains

Culverhouse also recently donated $500,000 to the Church of the Redeemer — “marking the largest non-capital campaign donation in the parish’s 139-year history,” the release points out.

“Hugh takes stewardship seriously, and his generosity continues to transform the parish and our community,” said Wilson, the rector, in the release.

Culverhouse serves as CEO of Palmer Ranch Holdings Ltd. in Sarasota, having led the 15,000-acre, master-planned community for nearly three decades, the release adds.