Jess Jackson obituary: Jess Jackson, developer of Kendall-Jackson wine brand, dies at 81

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A free-form sculptor, John Chamberlain crafted works from masses of crushed cars and automobile sheet metal. He was 84. Full obituary (Librado Romero / Associated Press)

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A former dissident playwright, Havel was the revered first president of Czechoslovakia after it overthrew Communist rule in 1989. His slogan: “May truth and love triumph over lies and hatred.” He was 75. Full obituary (Petr David Josek / Associated Press)

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Hubert Sumlin‘s snarling guitar helped define Howlin’ Wolf‘s sound. Though Sumlin never attained a fraction of the fame of his celebrated boss, he is revered by fellow blues musicians. He was 80. Full obituary

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The daughter of stars Loretta Young and Clark Gable, Lewis wrote tenderly about her only meeting with Gable at age 15. Young, an unmarried, staunch Catholic, faked an adoption of Lewis, who did not learn the truth about her parentage until she was an adult. She had careers as an actress and a psychotherapist. She was 76. Full obituary (Jill Connelly / Associated Press)

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Known as “Father Dollar Bill,” Father Maurice Chase handed out dollar bills on Los Angeles’ skid row, caring more about the gift of human love than about what his beneficiaries did with the money. He was 92. Full obituary

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The Bruins point guard, who in 1964 helped John Wooden win his first national championship at UCLA, coached the team for four seasons. He was 69. Full obituary

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The heavyweight champ had epic bouts with Muhammad Ali. In 1971 he became the first fighter to defeat Ali, then lost two rematches. In his 37 professional fights, “Smokin’ Joe” won 32 times. But he never accepted his 1-2 record against Ali. He was 67. Full obituary

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Matty Alou won the National League batting title in 1966 while with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He and his brothers Felipe and Jesus became the only trio of brothers to play outfield together in a 1963 game. He was 72. Full obituary.

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Erratic and mercurial, the Libyan leader fancied himself a political philosopher, practiced an unorthodox, deadly diplomacy and cut an at times cartoonish figure in robes and sunglasses and surrounded by female guards. He was 69. Obituary | Full coverage of Kadafi’s death | Photos: Kadafi through the years

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The Native American activist was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that accused the federal government of cheating Native Americans in its management of Indian land, resulting in a record $3.4-billion settlement. She was 65. Full obituary

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The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was killed in a 15-car wreck in the IndyCar series’ season-ending race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was 33. Full obituary

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Roger Williams was of the most popular instrumentalists of the mid-20th century and hit No. 1 on the pop charts in 1955 with his arpeggio-strewn “Autumn Leaves.” Between 1955 and 1972, he had 22 hit singles -- including “Born Free” -- and 38 hit albums. He was 87. Full obituary

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The Scottish singer-guitarist influenced rock and folk greats including Neil Young, Jimmy Page, Paul Simon and Pete Townshend, who credit Jansch’s effect on their music and celebrate his virtuosic playing and evocative songwriting. He was 67. Full obituary

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Ralph Steinman died just days before the Nobel committee announced he had won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. His heirs will still receive his share of the award because the Nobel committee did not know of his death. He and two others were honored for their work with the immune system. He was 68. Full obituary

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Robinson owned Sugar Hill Records. The label released “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang in 1979. It’s considered the first mainstream hip-hop hit. She also had a solo hit with “Pillow Talk” in 1973. She was 76. Full obituary

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He invented the first practical implantable pacemaker. The electrical engineer’s handmade device was named by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1983 as one of the 10 greatest engineering contributions to society in the previous 50 years. He was 92. Full obituary

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The NFL Hall of Famer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers teamed with his brothers to create a dominant defensive front and led Oklahoma to back-to-back national college championships. He was 56. (J. Meric / Getty Images)

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The Chicago bluesman, the son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, performed with the founders of the art form: Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Son House, Tommy McLennan, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams. He was the last of the bluesmen from his generation. He was 96. Full obituary

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June Wayne founded the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles in the 1960s, where leading artists collaborated with professional printers to create high-quality prints. She was also a prolific artist in her own right. She was 93. Full obituary

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Marshall Grant, who worked as Johnny Cash‘s road manager and played bass for him for more than two decades, helped create the singer’s famous sound. He was 83. Full obituary

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Bernadine Healy, a cardiologist and educator, was the first woman to head the National Institutes of Health. She led the Red Cross relief efforts after 9/11. She was 67. Full obituary

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The NFL player, who was the No. 1 draft pick from Michigan State in 1967, played for the Baltimore Colts, the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oilers. Later, he appeared in popular beer commercials and acted in films and on TV. He was 66. Full obituary

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The Oscar-nominated art director was best known for her work on “The Last Picture Show” and “Paper Moon,” both directed by former husband Peter Bogdanovich. She also was an executive in filmmaker James L. Brooks’ company. She was 72. Full obituary

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He became the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and guided military and humanitarian efforts in the post-Cold War era of the 1990s. He was 75. Full obituary

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The British painter, whose works are highly prized by collectors, created subjects in anguished, anti-erotic poses. He used impasto, a technique involving the thick application of paint, to create his highly textured portraits. He was 88. Full obituary

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Lillian Mobley, a tireless South Los Angeles activist, fought to establish the King/Drew hospital and its related medical school. Above, Mobley, right, looks on as Dr. George Locke greets Rep. Maxine Waters at King/Drew in 2004. She was 81. Full obituary

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The comedy writer and producer created “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch. “ He also wrote the memorable theme-song lyrics for both the wacky tale of a shipwrecked “three-hour tour” and the story of the marriage between a “lovely lady” with three daughters and “a man named Brady” with three sons. Above, Schwartz in 2008 receives kisses from Florence Henderson, who played Mrs. Brady, and Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on “Gilligan’s Island.” He was 94. Full obituary

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The former first lady captivated the nation with her unabashed candor and forthright discussion of her personal battles with breast cancer, prescription drug addiction and alcoholism. She founded the widely emulated Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for the treatment of chemical dependencies. She was 93. Full obituary

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The internationally renowned American artist, whose work blurred the boundaries of painting, drawing and handwritten poetry, was recognized with Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg as one of the three most important American artists to emerge in the 1950s. Above, the artist at the Louvre, where he designed and painted the ceiling of a large gallery of bronze sculptures last year. He was 83. Full obituary

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The saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen‘s E Street Band put his stamp on such Springsteen classics as “Born to Run” and “Rosalita.” He was known both for his full-throttle tenor sax work and his larger-than-life onstage persona as “the Big Man.” He was 69. Full obituary

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Pratt was a former Black Panther whose 1972 murder conviction was overturned after he spent 27 years behind bars for a crime he said he did not commit. He was 63. Full obituary

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The singer gained fame with her 1974 hit, “Poetry Man.” She received wide acclaim for her self-titled album, which showed off her multi-octave range and musical versatility. She had suffered a brain hemorrhage in January 2010. She was 60. Full obituary

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He was considered a living god by millions of Hindus. After declaring himself the reincarnation of a Hindu saint in 1940, he built a loyal following, including politicians and celebrities, despite allegations of sexual abuse. He leaves a trust worth billions of dollars. He was 84. Full obituary

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The architect incorporated aerodynamic designs into his whimsical midcentury “Googie” coffee shops, including the original Norms on La Cienega Boulevard in L.A. and Pann’s in Westchester, to attract passing motorists. He was 94. Full obituary | Photos: “Googie” architecture

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The developer of the Kendall-Jackson wine brand was a San Francisco lawyer who became a skilled wine merchant and titan of the industry. In recent years, Jackson owned winning racehorses, including Rachel Alexandra. He was 81. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times)

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The legendary Norwegian runner became the face of the New York City Marathon, winning the race nine times. She also set four marathon world records. She was 57. Full obituary

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The biochemist won the 1976 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for discovering the hepatitis B virus, which causes severe liver disease and cancer. He later developed the vaccine that protects against it. He was 85. Full obituary

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A prolific thinker and creator, he is credited with innovations in cable modems, interactive TV, airport metal detectors and the “packet switching” technology that helped lead to the Internet. Above, Baran receives the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Bush in 2008. He was 84. Full obituary

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The political reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist wrote more than four decades for the Washington Post, where he mentored countless colleagues. He appeared on “Meet the Press” some 400 times. He was 81. Full obituary

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Frank Buckles, the last American veteran of World War I, drove ambulances in France and later spent years in an internment camp after Japan’s invasion of the Philippines in WWII. He was 110. Full obituary

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The composer won five Oscars for films such as “Born Free” and “Out of Africa” and scored Bond films including “Goldfinger,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “From Russia With Love.” His work on the Bond franchise put him in the forefront of music composers. He was 77. Full obituary

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Grannis photographs documented California surf culture of the 1960s and ‘70s. His images helped popularize and immortalize the sport -- and the life behind it -- at a crucial point in its history. “His photos captured the real thing,” wrote surfing journalist Steve Barilotti. He was 93. Full obituary (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

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The relatively unknown photographer documented L.A.’s beat culture and emerging arts scene, the civil rights movement, the Black Panthers and antiwar protests. He was 82. Full obituary (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Sargent Shriver, a lawyer and Kennedy in-law, worked for JFK’s and Lyndon Johnson’s administrations. He launched social programs including the Peace Corps, Head Start and the Job Corps and led the “war on poverty.” Programs he created “still change people’s lives,” says daughter Maria Shriver. Above, with his wife Eunice in 1968. He was 95. Full obituary (Charles Harrity / Associated Press)

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The British director earned Academy Award nominations for “Breaking Away” and “The Dresser.” “Bullitt” was Yates’ American directing debut. It starred Steve McQueen as a detective and featured a memorable car chase on the streets of San Francisco with McQueen at the wheel of a Mustang. He was 81. Full obituary

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By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times

April 22, 2011 12 AM PT

Jess Jackson, a man who knew how to pick winners, whether they were thoroughbred racehorses or vineyards, died of cancer Thursday at his wine country estate in Geyserville, Calif. He was 81.

Jackson was a wine industry visionary who developed the Kendall-Jackson brand, which popularized premium wines for the mass market and helped make the chardonnay varietal a household staple.

Friends and business associates described Jackson as a classic entrepreneur who had three distinct, successful careers, first as a San Francisco attorney and then as a skilled wine merchant whose 14,000 acres of wine grapes are among the largest private vineyard holdings in America. In recent years, Jackson became a winning racing horse stable owner.

He spent millions of his wine profits building Stonestreet Stables and buying thoroughbred horses at auctions.

Jackson was co-owner of Curlin, voted Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008. He also co-owned Rachel Alexandra, the filly that won the Preakness in 2009 and also was voted Horse of the Year.

And whether he was dealing in the horse or wine business, Jackson became known as an innovator unbowed by the conventional wisdom in businesses.

In 2009, he decided to have Rachel Alexandra skip the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita over concerns about the Arcadia track’s synthetic surface, referring to artificial surfaces as “plastic” and provoking a debate about the surfaces.

He was a vocal critic of special distribution laws that in many states require wine to pass through the hands of distributors, increasing consumer prices.

Jackson even challenged industry giant E.&J. Gallo Winery over trademark issues. He lost a legal battle over whether Gallo’s Turning Leaf label too closely imitated the autumn-toned look and feel of his Kendall-Jackson brand.

Wine broker Bill Turrentine remembers meeting Jackson at a wine tasting in Santa Rosa decades ago. At the time, quality wine was sold by region. The label on each bottle would feature a geographic appellation such as Napa Valley that was the primary characteristic pitching the wine. But Jackson believed he could make flavorful and consistent wines by blending the same variety of grape grown in different regions.

“I remember thinking that this was another guy who better keep his day job as an attorney in San Francisco. The idea that you could charge a premium price for a bottle of wine that just said California on it was absurd,” Turrentine said.

Jackson proved him wrong.

The rich, full-flavored chardonnay that Jackson’s winery developed had just a touch of residual sugars that made it popular with yuppies and baby boomers just starting to discover quality wine, said wine industry consultant Jon Fredrikson of Gomberg-Fredrikson & Associates.

Jackson priced the wine about a dollar more than his other popular wines at the time, giving him better profit margins and funds to expand.

“He really believed this was a great model and said this was an opportunity that you could drive a truck through,” Fredrikson said.

It launched Jackson into a busy acquisition spree.

“From about 1985 to about 1994, he was able to buy wonderful properties at very good prices, often below market,” said Fredrikson, who often scouted the vineyards for Jackson. “There was a lot of risk there, but Jess had one commanding advantage over his competitors. He was a real estate lawyer who was very smart and knew how to get deals done.”

Jackson wandered into the business as a weekend farmer after he bought an 80-acre pear and walnut orchard in Lakeport in rural Lake County in 1974 as a weekend retreat from city life and converted into a vineyard.

“I was attracted by the lifestyle. I wanted to get away from law and become a farmer,” Jackson told The Times in 2007.

That first holding morphed into the larger Kendall-Jackson Winery (Jane Kendall was his first wife), and the winery’s Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay became one of the top-selling wines in America. He produced his first bottle of wine under the Kendall-Jackson label in 1982.

“The original business plan was to break even at 50,000 cases, but we kept growing,” Jackson said.

Jackson was intensely proud of the vast holdings he acquired in prime wine regions, including Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Santa Barbara and Monterey counties. He relished giving visitors tours of the acreage via private helicopter.

Jackson would explain how most of the vineyards are on mountains, ridges, hillsides and bench lands. These are all areas that drain well and add to the quality of the wine.

“The vines need to struggle to find nutrients. That way it concentrates on ripening the fruits. You don’t want lots of water in the roots. That just creates more growth of leaves,” Jackson said.

His wine empire included Jackson Family Wines, featuring higher-end specialty labels such as Freemark Abbey in Napa Valley, La Crema Winery in Sonoma County and Byron in Santa Barbara County.

Jackson said the success of the wine business allowed him and second wife and business partner Barbara Banke to plunge into horse racing.

Jackson is survived by Banke, his children Jennifer Hartford, Laura Giron, Katie Jackson, Julia Jackson and Christopher Jackson, and two grandchildren.

A one-time longshoreman and police officer who put himself through UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall law school, Jackson said he liked the racing business “because I like to compete.” Born Feb. 18, 1930, in Los Angeles, he was raised in San Francisco by his accountant father and schoolteacher mother during the Great Depression.

Associates said Jackson was a gabber who came up with ideas but often left the implementation to his staff, sometimes to their exasperation.

“He was very outgoing and loved to talk,” said Turrentine.

When Jackson was doubling as an attorney in San Francisco and as a vintner, he would often stop by Turrentine’s office on his way to Lakeport late on Friday.

“There were many Fridays when he kept me from getting home for dinner on time,” Turrentine said.

In the end, it was no surprise that Jackson could succeed in multiple fields, his friends said.

“Somehow great entrepreneurs see the future and have the guts to go for it,” Fredrikson said. “Jess continually did that.”

[email protected]

Times staff writer Eric Sondheimer contributed to this report.