To honor Jimmy Mancbach, the longtime director of fine wine for Southern Wine & Spirits, who died earlier this year, Southern Wine & Spirits and Wine Spectator have partnered up for a unique auction. Throughout the month of October, lots of rare wines and travel and food packages will be auctioned off in order to establish the Jimmy Mancbach Memorial Scholarship Foundation. Proceeds of the auction will help fund young wine professionals to work side-by-side with renowned winemakers during harvest. The auction is a one-time event and it is hoped that the money raised will hep fund the program for many years.

The auction includes 450 cases of magnums available in the auction and several "lifestyle" lots. Some wine lots are available for bidding now and bidding on the lifestyle lots will be opened on October 15. The auction includes Signature Cuvees from Au Bon Climat, Loring Wine Company, Schrader Cellars, and Soter Vineyards, large rare bottles, vertical collections and special selections from Jimmy's personal cellar. The list of wineries donating lots is a who's who of California wine including Colgin Cellars, Grace Family Vineyards, Hanzell Vineyards, Kistler, Marcassin and Screaming Eagle. The lifestyle lots feature dinners with chefs such as Emeril Lagasse and Daniel Boulud, winery tours and dinners, vacation packages and VIP tickets to popular wine event. All in all, it's a very fitting tribute to a beloved bon vivant of the wine industry.

[via Wine Business]