Jackson Family Wines Honored For Leading The Way In Sustainable Winemaking

SONOMA COUNTY, CA – News submitted from the Sonoma County Harvest Fair coming soon to the Sonoma County Event Center at the Fairgrounds:

Building on the legacy of their father Jess Jackson, and with the continued passion and commitment of Barbara Banke, the entire Jackson family takes the long view when helping to manage their family business, always seeking to maintain the vitality of the land for the next generation.

Jackson Family Wines, a collection of premium wines, including Kendall-Jackson, La Crema, and Stonestreet, stands out clearly as the leader in Sonoma County’s new effort toward 100% sustainable winemaking by 2019. With Katie Jackson in charge of sustainability and external affairs, Jackson Family Wines is putting Sonoma County at the worldwide forefront of winemaking innovation yet again.

The Sonoma County Harvest Fair is honored to present the Jackson family with the Harvest Fair’s first-ever Outstanding Sustainable Processor/Maker Award.

“My father started the company in 1982 and from the beginning he taught his family the value of being a good land steward,” says Jackson. “Ours is a multi-generational approach to farming with the goal of insuring that the land remains healthy and productive for the next hundred years and beyond,” she adds.

Jackson says being a family-owned business gives Jackson Family Wines the ability to make decisions focused on the long-term, rather than on quarterly stock market results. “Managing our business from the vineyards to shipping our bottled wines, enables us to integrate sustainable practices into every stage of the art and science of winemaking,” she says.

And, with a vision for zero waste, meager greenhouse gases and sustainable agriculture, Jackson Family Wines is leading the way in Sonoma County—having received early certification as a sustainable winegrower, recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and recently the Green Medal Leader Award given by an assortment of industry organizations including the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, the California Association of Winegrape Growers, Wine Institute, Lodi Winegrape Commission, Napa Valley Vintners, Sonoma County Winegrowers and The Vineyard Team (Sustainable in Practice).

“When the Sonoma County Winegrowers committed to being the nation's first 100 percent sustainable winegrowing region, Jackson Family Wines jumped right in,” says Karissa Kruse, President of the Sonoma County Winegrowers. "The Jacksons committed to paying more to growers for sustainably farmed grapes, providing the financial incentive needed to gain support from other growers, especially small growers where margins are especially tight. They have been great partners in our bold goal,” adds Kruse.

Jackson Family Wines uses innovative practices to set a high sustainability standard, such as closed loop water recycling; sensors and drones to precisely gauge water and fertilizer needs; state-of-the art drip irrigation systems that prevent evaporation; the wine industry’s largest onsite solar generation with some of the energy stored in Tesla batteries; the recycling of 98 percent of its materials used in bottling; reservoirs to capture water runoff, rain and processed water; and windmills to break up winter air masses that threaten to freeze grapes, saving water and energy.

The Sonoma County Harvest Fair is proud to honor Jackson Family Wines as 2016’s Outstanding Sustainable Processor/Maker and recognizes Jackson Family Wines as the first winery to offer grape growers a financial premium for certified sustainable grapes, thus providing strong support for Sonoma County’s sustainability efforts. The Jackson Family will be celebrated along with their fellow Harvest Fair award recipients during a ceremony and dinner to be held September 25 at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. The celebration is open to the public with tickets available at HarvestFair.org.

The 2016 Sonoma County Harvest Fair is September 30 – October 2 at the Sonoma County Event Center at the Fairgrounds.

Also see:

• The Olive Press Takes 'Best of Show' Olive Oil Award
• Buck Sangiacomo Honored For Lifetime Contribution To Sonoma Co. Agriculture At Harvest Fair
• Third-Generation Winegrape Grower Named Harvest Fair's 2016 Outstanding Young Farmer
• Robert Young Family Honored For Lifetime Contribution To Wine Industry
• Redwood Empire Vineyard Management Named 'Outstanding Sustainable Farmer'
• Harvest Fair Names '2016 Outstanding Young Person in Agribusiness'
• Russian River Brewing Co. Receives Harvest Fair Award for 'Excellence in the Craft Beer Industry'
• Harvest Fair Names '2016 Friend of Sonoma County Agriculture'
• Singing Frogs Farm Takes 'Excellence In Local Food Production' Honor From Sonoma Co. Harvest Fair
• Mark Your Calendars For Upcoming Sonoma County Harvest Fair: Tickets On Sale

--Image courtesy of Sonoma Co. Harvest Fair