The death earlier today of Jess Stonestreet Jackson, founder of California’s Kendall-Jackson Winery and owner of numerous other wine brands, did not come as a surprise, for he had waged a long battle with cancer. The shock comes with the realisation of just how very much Jackson contributed to the wine industry, and to his second career, thoroughbred horseracing.
Jackson, 81, died peacefully at his 5,400-acre Geyserville (Sonoma County) ranch, with his wife, Barbara Banke, and five children with him.
Jackson, one of the most powerful vintners in the United States and owner of no less than 25 wineries and/or...