by Charles Neave
Perhaps it would be far too simplistic to say that Kendall-Jackson, one of the leaders in business and innovation in the wine business in the United States, was built on a single bottle of wine and a single varietal. But to many people, a great many people in fact, the Kendall-Jackson imprint will forever be associated with a bottle of rich, smooth, silky Chardonnay they enjoyed a decade or two ago. A California wine that was, in many cases a revelation about not just how good a Chardonnay – a well crafted, well balanced, thoughtfully considered Chardonnay – could taste, and also just how good California wine could be. A seminal moment, then, in one’s discovery and appreciation of the noble grape.
Many more wines followed, and with them walls full of ribbons, medals, commendations and reviews from not just this country, but internationally. Cabernet Sauvignon, Coastal Pinot Noir, Central Coast wines and wines from the hillsides toward Santa Barbara; Merlots, Sauvignon Blanc, Late Harvest wines, classic French-style blends, Zinfandels … they all joined a rapidly growing roster under the leadership of Jess Jackson, a successful attorney turned very successful vintner.
Today, 34 wine brands (the count at this writing at least) fall under the Jackson Family Wines umbrella. Their number includes such well known and often revered names as Robert Pepi, La Jota, Freemark Abbey, Cardinale and Atalon in the Napa Valley; Matanzas Creek, Murphy-Goode, La Crema, Arrowood and Stonestreet in Sonoma County; Edmeades in Mendocino; and Monterey Vineyards to the south. In addition, there are also the winery estates in South America, Italy, France and Australia to add to the mix.
Despite the number of wineries that come under the purview of the family-owned entity known as Jackson Family Wines, each is run pretty much as an individual venture when it comes to optimizing the land (they own 30,000 acres in six California counties; almost half of it – 14,000 of estate acres – already planted in grapes) and translating those grapes into fine wine. Put another way, it comes out to a total, from all of the wine companies combined, to right around 5.8 million cases, which means close to seventy million bottles, or over 26 million glasses. Any way you look at it, a significant portion of the wine of this class that is made in the United States comes form one of these wineries. It is no wonder that Jess Jackson and co-proprietor (and wife) Barbara Banke are regarded as major forces in the wine business not just in this country but around the globe.
The autonomy each winery has been given has obviously paid off handsomely. That plus access to the latest in equipment and research findings, and exceptional land for sourcing the grapes. When it comes to this topic, Jackson frequently mentions the importance of the soil, the climate, the topography of the land: the terroir.
“The key to understanding terroir is to appreciate how the light, water, soil and climate of a given vineyard site interact with human contact to produce unique wine of exceptional quality,” Jackson has said. “Tasting the distinctive wines made from our mountain and hillside grapes goes a long way to defining this thing we call terroir.”
Much of that character can be found in the Highland Estate wines (fruit from Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbera, Mendocino and Monterey counties) and in the Grand Reserve wines they produce. The Stature imprimatur signifies the pinnacle of their experience, effort and intent. As Winemaster Randy Ullom says, “Stature has no guidelines other than it represents a selection of Napa Valley’s top Bordeaux varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec – luxuriously blended into a single Meritage wine of elegance and power.”
There is also the commitment to the land. Whether it be raptor roosts and nesting boxes for natural pest control, oak and seedling restoration, preservation of the Tiger salamander species on 700 acres in Santa Barbara, sustainable farming practices, wildlife corridors, planting cover crops that control erosion, replenish soils and promote the breeding of beneficial insects, or water conservation, it all has become an integral part of the company mantra of “tread lightly on the land.”
When it comes to value and to bringing the wine to the marketplace – to the consumer - Winemaster Ullom is succinct. “If we’re providing a $12 bottle of wine, it’s going to be good enough to be in a $24 category. A $20 bottle will be twice its value. [We’re] always over-delivering on the quality for the price.”
What it comes down to at Jackson Family Wines is simple: give the wine drinker a better value, a wine that they can appreciate and enjoy, wines for different palates, levels of sophistication and occasions. Do it all well, market it wisely, pay attention to the basics as you plan for the future, and in the end you will find success.
The Kendall-Jackson visitors center is located at 5007 Fulton Road in Fulton (just north of Santa Rosa). There’s also a tasting room in downtown Healdsburg: 337 Healdsburg Avenute. Both are open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (707) 571-8100 or visit the website at www.kj.com.

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