![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/john_alban_winemaker_of_the_year_press_release-pdf-1.jpg\")
John Alban, founder of Alban Vineyards, named Winemaker of the Year for the 2026 San Francisco Wine Auction. (Photo credit: John Alban)<\/p>\nFounder of the Rh\u00f4ne Rangers movement to be celebrated at the 49th annual auction benefiting Bay Area children in need \u2014 September 19 at The Palace Hotel<\/p>\n
August 24, 2026 (San Francisco, CA) \u2014 The Guardsmen today announced that acclaimed vintner John Alban, founder of Alban Vineyards, has been named Winemaker of the Year for the 49th annual San Francisco Wine Auction. The auction takes place September 19, 2026, at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco, with proceeds supporting Bay Area children in need with scholarships and campership programs.<\/p>\n
John Alban, founder of Alban Vineyards, named Winemaker of the Year for the 2026 San Francisco Wine Auction. (Photo credit: John Alban)<\/p>\n
In naming Alban Winemaker of the Year, The Guardsmen recognize a key leader of the Rh\u00f4ne Rangers movement \u2014 a vintner who helped pave the way for a generation of California Rh\u00f4ne producers after establishing his own Alban Vineyards in 1989. His vision created an entire category of American wine.<\/p>\n
Respected as both a grower and a winemaker, Alban is known for a dedicated, low-yield, terroir-driven philosophy. His efforts show how great wine is made in the vineyard. His wines \u2014 and his Syrahs especially \u2014 have long stood as benchmark examples of what California Rh\u00f4ne varieties can achieve, with a reputation that has withstood the test of time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am honored to be the San Francisco Wine Auction\u2019s Winemaker of the Year. This distinction is especially meaningful to me because it celebrates wine\u2019s remarkable ability to bring people together\u2014and when those precious moments of connection become acts of generosity, wine has served one its greatest purposes.\u201d
\u2014 John Alban, Founder, Alban Vineyards<\/p>\n
The Winemaker of the Year distinction honors a vintner whose work and generosity advance both the craft of winemaking and the mission of The Guardsmen.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn is a visionary who saw an opportunity in California wine that others could not see. He importantly then had the conviction to see his vision through and to pave the way for a generation of American Rh\u00f4ne movement winemakers and growers, benefitting the whole community as a result.\u201d
\u2014 Hal Davis, Chair, Nominating Committee of the San Francisco Wine Auction<\/p>\n
The San Francisco Wine Auction is a signature fundraising event of The Guardsmen, helping to fund over 200 scholarships and over 2000 campership programs for children in need from the Bay Area each year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s remarkable that the San Francisco Wine Auction is now in its 49th year, having supported the mission of The Guardsmen for almost half a century. Wine connoisseurs and collectors converge on this event not only for the incredible wine but also to support children who need it most in our communities.\u201d
\u2014 Mike Darby, President, The Guardsmen<\/p>\n
Now in its 49th year, the San Francisco Wine Auction gathers more than 300 collectors and philanthropists for an evening of rare wine and exceptional lots. Online bidding opens September 14\u201321, with the in-person event beginning at 5:00 p.m. on September 19 with a silent auction and tasting, followed by dinner and the live auction at 7:15 p.m. and the After-Glow celebration at 9:00 p.m. The 2025 auction raised more than $800,000 for The Guardsmen\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n
The San Francisco Wine Auction About The Guardsmen
The San Francisco Wine Auction is the signature annual fundraising event of The Guardsmen. Held each September at The Palace Hotel, it brings together collectors, vintners, and philanthropists for an evening of rare wine and exceptional lots in support of at-risk Bay Area youth. The 2025 auction raised more than $800,000. Details are available at sfwineauction.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Since 1947, The Guardsmen has opened doors for at-risk Bay Area youth. Entirely volunteer-run, the organization sends underserved local children to summer camp and supports their education through K\u201312 scholarships \u2014 sending more than 2,000 kids to camp and programs each year and awarding over 200 K\u201312 scholarships. The Guardsmen is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Tax ID 94-1196194).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Founder of the Rh\u00f4ne Rangers movement to be celebrated at the 49th annual auction benefiting Bay Area children…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[175170,11260,175171,592,175172,101,103,102,175173,104,106,105,175174],"class_list":["post-442118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-alban-vineyards","tag-california-wine","tag-john-alban","tag-people","tag-rhone-rangers","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-san-francisco-wine-auction","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-the-guardsmen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}