In keeping with our winemaking philosophy, we have assembled a team of expert winemakers by Winemaster Randy Ullom.

Randy Ullom
A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Randy became interested in wine during a three-year stay in Chile, while on sabbatical from college in the early 1970s. His stay inspired a cross-country trek through Chile's vast wine-growing regions. On his return to the United States, he entered Ohio State University to study crop production with a specialty in Viticulture and Enology and received his degree in 1975.

After six years as a vineyard manager and Winemaker in Ohio and upstate New York, Randy moved to California to become associate Winemaker at De Loach Vineyards in Sonoma County. He was promoted to Winemaker and Vice President in 1991. The wines produced during his tenure were consistent gold medal winners at wine competitions.

Hired by Jess Jackson in 1993 as Winemaker for some of our smaller and international vineyards, Randy was handed his most prestigious assignment in 1997 – Winemaster for Kendall-Jackson Winery.

"I look at all of the vineyards we own, and all of the individual lots of wines that we make, and the thousands of barrels we have sitting in our cellar and sometimes I think, you gotta be kidding me! After I've sufficiently recovered from my daily panic attack, I take off my coat, dig in my heels and take it one barrel at a time. It's a rewarding job that I love."

Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson, a native of the Sacramento Valley, California, spent his high school summers working in pear and plum orchards. He also spent time growing kiwis and grapes in Placer County. "This valley is where my interest in agriculture was born," he says. His early idea was to focus on viticulture at Fresno State University, but he added courses in winemaking to round out his studies.

Graduating with a winemaking degree, Johnson began his career in 1984 on the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, Canada, traveling the Finger Lakes region of New York, and down to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. "I was able to see many different grape growing regions during my East Coast tour, with each region offering experiences both challenging and rewarding," Johnson reveals. During his tenure as the winemaker for Prince Michel Vineyards in Virginia, he consistently made award-winning wines that gained local and national acclaim.

In February of 2001, Johnson was named winemaker for Kendall-Jackson's Oakville winery in the Napa Valley. At this location, he focused on Kendall-Jackson's most esteemed lots of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. A year later, he became the red winemaker for Kendall-Jackson and currently concentrates solely on the Bordeaux reds for Kendall Jackson and Jackson Enterprises.

Mark Theis
Mark was born in Dodge City, Kansas and grew up on a nearby cattle ranch. Like many of his wine industry contemporaries, he began making wine during his high school years. In Mark's spare time, he experimented with fermentation. He later went on to study general agriculture but the winemaking bug had hooked him, and he transferred to UC Davis to study Fermentation Science – graduating in 1979.

Mark worked at Monterey Peninsula Winery as an assistant. The tiny winery proved to be an ideal training ground for a young winemaker. By 1981, he had been appointed Head Winemaker and was crafting very individualistic wines that received a remarkable cult following.

Two years later, he transferred to Husch Winery. Over a period of ten years, he produced a string of critically acclaimed, award-winning wines. Mark joined Kendall-Jackson in 1994 as Winemaker at Lakeport and now is our white Winemaker.