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Jess Jackson and his wife Barbara Banke are the co-proprietors of Jackson Family Wines, one of the most respected and highly-acclaimed group of wine brands in the world and remain one of the few family-owned wineries of any size in America by focusing on producing the highest quality wines. 

Raised in San Francisco, Jess Jackson worked his way through UC Berkeley and Boalt Hall School of Law with a brief stint in law enforcement among other jobs.  Jess became a highly respected trial and appellate attorney with a thriving practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in land-use and property rights issues. Other post-graduate activities included farming, real estate investing, computer leasing and programming, and fine wine farming and marketing. 

Barbara Banke earned a Juris Doctorate from Hastings College of Law and specialized in land use and constitutional law.  During her 12 years practicing law, Barbara took on a number of landmark cases, argued in the United States Supreme Court and in several Courts of Appeal.

After studying the varietal fine wine market for several years, Jess Jackson built Kendall-Jackson Winery, (“K-J”), in 1982.  Barbara joined him in 1984-5.  They grew Kendall-Jackson into an internationally-known brand.   In addition, the couple also established several separate artisan wineries which, along with Kendall-Jackson, are now collected under a family enterprise named, “Jackson Family Wines.”  The success of these ventures encouraged Jess and Barbara to retire from their law practice and devote their energies to farming and making luxury wines.

Their luxury portfolio of small production, high-quality wineries in Sonoma, Napa, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Mendocino counties, along with their international estate wineries in Italy, Chile, Australia and the Bordeaux region of France, make Jackson Family Wines a world leader in ultra-premium and luxury wines.
 
Jess has had a life-long interest in horses. Looking toward thoroughbreds as a retirement business, in 2003 Jess started investing in thoroughbred horses and purchased farms in Ocala, Florida and two near Lexington, Kentucky, collectively named “Stonestreet Farms.”  The Farms’ focus is primarily on acquiring high-pedigreed, stakes-producing mares, supported by stallion shares (e.g., Ghostzapper, Awesome Again, Saarland, Afleet Alex, Dynaformer, Smart Strike, A.P. Indy, Distorted Humor, Unbridled Song, etc.) for thoroughbred breeding and sale of high-quality foals.  “Stonestreet Stables” purchases high-pedigreed colts and fillies, mostly yearlings and two-year-olds in training (e.g., Tiz Wonderful), and brilliant two- and three-year-olds (e.g., Curlin), to be defined by stakes racing as future potential stallions or broodmares.

Barbara and Jess currently make their home both in Sonoma County, near their winery offices in Santa Rosa, with their three children, Katherine, Julia and Christopher, and also at their Stonestreet Farms residence near Lexington, Kentucky.  Jess’ two older daughters, Jennifer and Laura, reside in Sonoma County with their families.