Self-made billionaire winemaker Jess Jackson is a modern Renaissance man. The 79-year-old grew up in San Francisco, worked his way through UC–Berkeley law school as a police officer and a longshoreman, started a law firm that argued cases before the Supreme Court, made a mint leasing IBM mainframe computers, and then started the Kendall-Jackson wine empire, which he still runs. Forbes lists him tied for 397th richest person in the world, with $1.8 billion in assets — and a few favorite things that are decidedly more accessible.
Interviewed by Daniel Duane
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My Car
I’ve got a classic 1974 VW van. I bought it in Europe, drove it all over France, England, and Germany, and then shipped it home. Whenever I wanted to get away from the noise of raising a family, I’d put my dog in the van and go off to Ocean Beach and work in it, and take a break to run with the dog. I still have that thing.
My Shoes
My vintage WWII boots are sturdy and dependable. That’s what I wear walking in the vineyards. I’ve never had to resole or recondition them.
My Horse
Curlin is a two-time world champion thoroughbred, the greatest North American money-earning horse in racing history. He won the Dubai World Cup, the Breeder’s Cup, and the Jockey Gold Cup at Belmont two years in a row. He ices competition. He knows which horse he has to beat and he eyes him, and then he rarely expends more energy than is necessary to win. Curlin is also, as of September, a standing stud. He services about 140 mares every year. He has all those dates lined up.
My Beach
I have a place on Kauai. I had a condo at first, on Hanalei Bay. I’d bring the family for a week or two and then send them all home and walk or drive around the islands by myself. Now we’ve got a beach house.
My Wine
I taste four to five thousand wines a year. I’ll probably taste 10 or 12 this afternoon. I have several favorites, but most often I enjoy Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay. It was the very first wine I ever made. It goes especially well with cracked crab.
My Book
Right now I’m reading a favorite: American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, by Jon Meacham. One of my ancestors came down to Texas with the Tennessee Volunteers sent by Jackson to help Sam Houston fight for Texan independence. Meacham has made history entertaining by deftly writing about life inside the White House from one of our most fascinating presidents. Jackson not only expanded America’s growth and defended its frontiers, but also gave the common man a representative in Washington.
My Dog
I was eight years old, walking on my grandpa’s Colorado farm, when his German shepherd jumped in front of me, grabbed a rattlesnake, and shook it to death. He’d seen it, and I hadn’t. I’ve owned German shepherds ever since — five of them, right up to Buddy, the one I’ve got now. Buddy has great instincts. He can sense whether people have a kind intention or not.
My Tunes
Sinatra was the stylist, the syncopator, the enunciator. He created swing, in my mind. The Dorseys were there first, but Sinatra personified that entire era of light jazz, songs that had not only rhythm and melody but emotion. What a talent! What a character! Though not a moral character…
My Board
I got my first surfing lesson from the Duke! I went over to Waikiki one day, and Duke took me out on a 12-foot redwood battleship. I stood up, and I’m going straight at the beach, and Duke comes in behind and I say, “How do you turn this thing?” I keep most of my surf boards in my home on the island of Kauai, but one special board — personally shaped by Dick Brewer as a gift — hangs on the wall in my California office.
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