Kendall-Jackson announced its commitment to Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW) and will add the CCSW logo to the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, the No. 1-selling wine in America.
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.
“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.”
The CCSW certification consists of 140 vineyard and 104 winery best practices that are third-party audited each year. 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.
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.