Top Selling Wine, Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, Now Carries the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing Logo on Label
Santa Rosa, Calif. (August 4, 2020) – Kendall-Jackson, one of America’s most beloved family-owned and operated wineries, is proud to announce its commitment to Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW) and will add the CCSW logo to the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, the #1-selling wine in America. With this addition, Kendall-Jackson becomes one of the nation’s largest wine producers to make such a profound commitment to enhancing the sustainability of its winegrowing and supply chain.
“From the onset, my father, Jess Jackson, believed making great wine starts with respect for the land, the community and future generations,” said Katie Jackson, SVP of Corporate Social Responsibility. “We want to provide consumers with wine that they can feel good about drinking. The entire Kendall-Jackson family is committed to keeping my father’s legacy alive and leading California wineries in sustainable winemaking practices. We hope others will follow our path.”
Kendall-Jackson was first certified sustainable in 2010. In 2017, the CCSW logo was introduced, and Kendall-Jackson promptly added it to the Grand Reserve tier wines. The winery is now making a substantial commitment in adding the logo to the Vintner’s Reserve wines, the largest production tier in the Kendall-Jackson portfolio. Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, which has been a benchmark wine for California Chardonnay, and the top-selling Chardonnay in America for the past 28 years according to IRI data, will carry the CCSW logo starting with the 2018 vintage.
“This wine has an extensive marketplace presence across America, so this is an exciting and significant endeavor that helps bring nationwide awareness to the California wine industry’s commitment to sustainable winegrowing,” said Allison Jordan, Executive Director of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, the governing body of the CCSW.
Kendall-Jackson’s commitment spans the entire portfolio. The ’17 Vintner’s Reserve Merlot, the ’19 Rosé, and the ‘19 Avant Unoaked Chardonnay will also carry the logo, with other varietals following as they are bottled. Consumers will also notice it on the winery’s elevated tier of single vineyard and small-production wines, the Estates Collection.
As the industry sees a continued increase in wine purchasing for at home consumption, there is a greater consumer desire to understand how wine is made and make choices that support sound environmental and social business practices. A January 2020 Wine Intelligence survey showed 71% of U.S. consumer and trade respondents indicating that they would consider buying sustainably produced wine in the future.
A sustainable wine goes well beyond the boundaries of the farm, with a need to look at multiple facets of the winemaking process. This puts a stronger onus on responsibility, which is a major facet of Kendall-Jackson’s desire to seek this type of certification. The CCSW sustainable winegrowing concept results in a three-pronged approach relating to the natural environment, quality of grapes and wine, and social responsibility to employees and communities.
The CCSW certification consists of 140 vineyard and 104 winery best practices that are third-party audited each year. In order for an individual wine to be certified sustainable, at least 85% of the grapes in each bottle must come from a certified sustainable vineyard and the wine must be produced in a certified winery, with 100% of the grapes coming from California vineyards. 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. The Jackson family considers themselves farmers first, and believes the better the soil, the better the wine. The same passion that led the family to acquire the best vineyards throughout coastal California also drives them to care for the land and employ certified sustainable farming practices. One hundred percent of Kendall-Jackson’s more than 14,000 acres of estate vineyards throughout cool, coastal California are third-party Certified Sustainable. No other winery can boast this breadth of sustainably farmed vineyards.
The benefits of sustainable winegrowing are immense. Winemaking that supports environmental concerns as it conserves natural resources, improves air and water quality, and protects ecosystems and wildlife habitat. For the workforce, sustainable winemaking means stewardship of natural and human resources, with growers and vintners contributing to their communities both economically and culturally. Kendall-Jackson’s final product of higher quality grapes and wine is a testament to the in-depth attention to detail and continuous improvement needed to achieve this rigorous annual certification. By choosing Kendall-Jackson and other California wines with the CCSW logo, consumers can support an industry dedicated to environmental stewardship and socially equitable business practices.
ABOUT CERTIFIED CALIFORNIA SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWING / CALIFORNIA SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWING ALLIANCE (CSWA)
CSWA is a nonprofit organization created in 2003 by Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers to promote the benefits of sustainable winegrowing practices, enlist industry commitment and implement the Sustainable Winegrowing Program. In 2010, CSWA introduced Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing, a third-party certification program for California vineyards and wineries that adheres to international sustainability standards. Through annual audits, this certification provides independent verification of stringent requirements that ensure key sustainability areas such as soil health, water and energy, habitat, human resources and more are addressed. Certified vineyards and wineries must also measure resources and performance and improve year after year. The logo on wine labels indicates that the wine is made in a Certified California Sustainable winery with grapes from California certified vineyards.
ABOUT KENDALL-JACKSON
Kendall-Jackson is one of America’s most beloved family-owned and operated wineries. The winery’s flagship wine, the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, has been America’s favorite Chardonnay for over 28 years. Founded by entrepreneur and visionary Jess Jackson in 1982, and now led by his wife Barbara Banke and the Jackson family, Kendall-Jackson is based in Sonoma County and offers a range of acclaimed wines grown on the family’s estate vineyards along the coastal ridges of California. Kendall-Jackson is the benchmark for sustainable wine endeavors, setting the precedent for advancement in solar, water, and vineyard practices. Wine Enthusiast Magazine recently named Kendall-Jackson the 2017 winery of the year, one of the wine industry’s most notable accolades. Recognized as a leader in the industry for more than three decades, Kendall-Jackson has built a reputation centered around consistent, high-quality wines that are available nationwide in grocery stores, boutique wine retailers, and restaurants throughout America and globally in Europe, Central America, and Asia. Learn more online at www.kj.com, and follow Kendall-Jackson on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
