In 1974, Jess Jackson  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, and his family still run the day-to-day business of the winery.

"When my family and I founded Kendall-Jackson in 1982, I simply wanted to create extraordinary wine from California's best vineyards. In 1983 our Chardonnay won the first Platinum Award ever presented by the American Wine Competition. For over 15 years running now, we have been America's favorite wine. We grow grapes on some 12,000 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."