A Letter From Jess Jackson
Kendall-Jackson Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Twenty-five years seems like yesterday. I cherish the memory of bottling our first
Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay - the 1982 vintage - in a modest metal
barn that served as our Lakeport winery.
What joy we had introducing the wine to visitors, many of them from my San Francisco
law firm. Only later did we establish a more formal tasting room in a converted
shed near the winery. It featured a big oak plank laid over two upturned wine barrels.
As I traveled the coastal regions of California during the early 1980s searching
for the "perfect chardonnay vineyard," I found a few special places that produced
extraordinary grapes with distinctive character and flavor. Tepusquet in Santa Barbara
County, La Reina in Monterey County, and Les Pierres in Sonoma County were three
of those special vineyards that became the backbone of Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay.
We've always worked hard to ensure that our winery stays one step ahead of cultural
tastes and two steps ahead of our competition. Kendall-Jackson has built its reputation
on consistency and quality, something that has not been lost on those wine lovers
who have contributed to our success.
I'm proud to say that Kendall-Jackson is America's best-selling "attainable luxury"
wine. We achieved that mantle by maintaining a simple, single-minded vision - to
make world-class wines we needed world-class vineyards. So over the years, my family
and I have acquired vineyards in premier, maritime-influenced wine growing regions
along California's cool coast.
In 2004, we evolved our Vintner's Reserve program to "Jackson Estates Grown," a
tier that ensures total viticultural and quality control over the vineyards from
which we source grapes. Our Grand Reserve wines are now dual appellation and moving
toward single appellation designations. As our Estate vineyards move beyond their
teenage years, you will see a natural progression of fruit quality experienced in
our Highland Estates program. Needless to say, you can expect another evolution
in the Vintner's Reserve wines.
From our Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay to Grand Reserve Merlot to Hawkeye Mountain
Highland Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, each grape exhibits a flavor directly tied
to its terroir. These grapes are grown exclusively on mountains, ridges, hillsides
and benches along the cool coastal regions of California.
From the Santa Maria Bench and Los Alamos Hills in Santa Barbara County, the hillsides
of Sonoma County's Bennett Valley and steep Hawkeye Mountain high above the Alexander
Valley, the ridges of Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, Howell Mountain above
Napa Valley's Calistoga, the gravelly bench of the Arroyo Seco in Monterey County,
Annapolis Vineyard at the western edge of Sonoma Coast, to the steep slopes of Mount
St. Helena in Sonoma County's Knights Valley - these are just some of the special
places where grapes are grown to our strict standards of precision farming.
Our commitment to the stewardship of these lands has never been greater. Over the
past five years, my family and I have instituted a number of sustainable farming
methods throughout our Estates vineyards. Included are the use of soil erosion controls,
planting cover crops to attract beneficial insects, elimination of certain herbicides
and insecticides, and creating large wildlife corridors and riparian breaks along
major watersheds. The number of acres that we purposely leave unplanted in grapes
exceeds the number of those that are planted.
We are very proud of our environmental stewardship in the vineyard and our pursuit
of truth in labeling. These commitments along with our passion for excellence in
the vineyards and our ongoing pledge to making wines of superior quality are what
keep our fires burning.
There is still much to learn and there are still more vineyards to walk. I am joined
by my wife, Barbara, and our family, in celebrating Kendall-Jackson's first 25 years
of accomplishments. Here's to the next 25 years and beyond.
Jess Jackson, Owner & Proprietor
