1974
Roots in Lake County
Jess Jackson and his family purchase an aging orchard and plant Chardonnay, beginning their journey as winegrowers.
The beginning
From an aging orchard to a global family of estates.
Jess Jackson believed the finest wines begin in the places that ask the most of the farmer—hillsides, ridges, benches, and slopes.
The Jackson family began as winegrowers before becoming winemakers. That agricultural foundation became a philosophy: match the right variety to the right place, farm for character, and give each estate the freedom to express its own landscape.
Selected milestones
A family story still being written.
From a Lake County orchard to a worldwide family of independent estates, the story advances one place, one vintage, and one generation at a time.
1976
Freemark Abbey at the Judgment of Paris
Freemark Abbey becomes the only California winery selected to compete with both a red and a white wine in the historic blind tasting that brought worldwide attention to California wine.
1982
Kendall-Jackson debuts
Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay launches with the 1982 vintage. Jess and his daughters, Jenny and Laura, hand-sell the wine across the country.
1986–1989
Estate roots deepen
Cambria Estate Winery is established on the Santa Maria Bench in 1986, followed by Stonestreet in Alexander Valley in 1989.
1991–1994
Craft expands
The family invests directly in French oak, Kendall-Jackson becomes America’s best-selling Chardonnay, and Jenny Jackson Hartford and Don Hartford establish Hartford Family Winery.
2000–2006
A global family takes shape
Winemaking expands to Australia in 2000 and Saint-Émilion in 2003. In 2006, the Jackson family brings historic Freemark Abbey into the family of estates.
2011
A new chapter of stewardship
After Jess Jackson’s passing, Barbara Banke becomes Chairman and Don Hartford Vice Chairman, carrying the family’s long-term vision forward.
2012 & 2017
Barbara Banke’s leadership recognized
Barbara becomes the first woman named Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Personality of the Year in 2012, then receives Wine Spectator’s Distinguished Service Award in 2017.
2013–2014
Investing in the future
The Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building opens at UC Davis, while the family’s search for expressive places reaches Oregon’s Willamette Valley and South Africa.
2024
Hartford Court at the White House
Hartford Court Four Hearts Vineyard Chardonnay is selected for the White House state dinner honoring Kenya, continuing the estate’s history at the nation’s table.
2026
Penner-Ash honors a royal visit
Penner-Ash 2022 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is served at the White House state dinner for King Charles III and Queen Camilla—a global stage for Oregon wine.
One family, many voices
Independent estates with a shared commitment.
The portfolio is not built around making every winery feel the same. Its strength is the opposite.
Each estate has its own people, vineyards, history, and creative direction. What connects them is a commitment to farming, quality, responsible stewardship, and wines with a recognizable sense of place. That balance—family continuity without creative uniformity—is central to the Jackson Family story.
Cultivating the future
Long-term thinking is part of the inheritance.
Land
Estate vineyards and responsible farming keep the work grounded in real places.
Craft
Winemakers and growers are empowered to pursue the character of their individual sites.
Next generation
Children and grandchildren of the founders continue shaping the family’s future.
Explore the estates the history made possible.
See the wineries represented by Artisans & Estates in Florida today.
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