JESS JACKSON DIES

UPDATED INFO (NEWEST AT TOP)

• Kendall-Jackson winery owner Jess Jackson dies at 81
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• From BloodHorse.Com: Owner Jess Jackson Dies at Age 81
• KJ Blog
• Wine Icon Jess Stonestreet Jackson Passes Away

ORIGINAL ARTICLE (DRAFTED 6:07 A.M.)

Jess Jackson has died.

Details from the company and family are not yet available. Multiple sources have confirmed to Wine Industry Insight that an email went to company employees shortly before 6 a.m. PDT informing them that he had passed away.

No cause of death or other details are available at this time.

From the Kendall-Jackson Web site:

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.