For the past three decades, the Jackson family has cultivated many of California’s greatest cool, coastal mountains, ridges and benchland vineyards, allowing them a broad perspective of terroir to showcase some of California’s finest growing regions. They consider themselves farmers first. The same passion that led the family to acquire the best vineyards throughout coastal California also drives them to care for the land and utilize certified sustainable farming practices and clean energy. The result is that every single bottle of Kendall-Jackson wine is vinted and bottled using 100 percent renewable energy
Kendall-Jackson Winery currently makes nearly 50 wines, which are divided into five collections showcasing different winemaking styles and expressions of the land: Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve, Kendall-Jackson AVANT, Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve, the recently-released Jackson Estate Collection, a set of three small production, single-appellation wines, which are also expressed as vineyard designates, and finally Kendall-Jackson Stature, which represents the pinnacle of Kendall-Jackson’s winemaking excellence. In addition to Kendall-Jackson’s nationally available wines, the passionate winemaking team led by Ullom also creates several smaller production wines under the Grand Reserve and Jackson Estate collections, which are exclusive to the tasting room, wine club, and sometimes for purchase on KJ.com.
Hired by Jess Jackson in 1992 as Winemaker for some of our smaller and international vineyards, Randy was handed his most prestigious assignment in 1997 – Winemaster for Kendall-Jackson Winery.
A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Randy became interested in wine during a three-year stay in Chile, while on sabbatical from college in the early 1970s. His stay inspired a cross-country trek through Chile’s vast wine-growing regions. On his return to the United States, he entered Ohio State University to study crop production with a specialty in Viticulture and Enology and received his degree in 1975.
After six years as a vineyard manager and Winemaker in Ohio and upstate New York, Randy moved to California to become associate Winemaker at De Loach Vineyards in Sonoma County. He was promoted to Winemaker and Vice President in 1991. The wines produced during his tenure were consistent gold medal winners at wine competitions.
