"From day one we have been a family-owned and family-run business. It is a distinction that is rapidly becoming a rarity in our industry. Our family culture is built on the time-honored principles of hard work, integrity, and uncompromising desire for quality and the long-term stewardship of the land."

"It takes a strong-willed family to live up to these principles. We take the no-compromise, high road approach to quality required to grow our world-class grapes and produce critically acclaimed award-winning wines."

Born in 1930, Jackson was raised in San Francisco and graduated from UC Berkeley's Boalt Law School. In 1974, Jess and his family bought an 80-acre pear and walnut orchard in Lakeport, California. After converting the orchard to a vineyard, Jess began selling his grapes to local wineries. In 1982, he produced his first bottle of wine under the Kendall-Jackson label. Jess, a founding member of Family Winemakers of California, his wife Barbara Banke, and his family still run the day-to-day business of the winery.

"When my family and I founded Kendall-Jackson in 1982, we simply wanted to create extraordinary wine from California's best vineyards," remembers Jess. "In 1983 our Chardonnay won the first Platinum Award ever presented by the American Wine Competition. For nearly three decades, we have been America's favorite wine. We grow grapes on some 14,000 acres of California Coastal vineyards, and continue to evolve our practices and increase the quality of our wines. My family will always be committed to creating the very best wine we can. We hope you enjoy our wine as much as we enjoy making it."