A Man and his Mountain: The Everyman who Created Kendall-Jackson and Became America’s Greatest Wine Entrepreneur

The story of self-made billionaire Jess Jackson, who put Chardonnay on America’s tables as he built the Kendall–Jackson wine empire from a few mountainous acres of grapes, and raced the Horse of the Year three years in a row, is a remarkable tale of romance, risk, and reinvention—perhaps the greatest second act in the history of American business.

Jess Stonestreet Jackson was one of a small band of pioneering entrepreneurs who put California's wine country on the map. His life story is a compelling slice of history, daring, innovation, feuds, intrigue, talent, mystique, contrarianism, and luck, offering a unique window on the elegant, adventurous, and cut-throat worlds of Jackson's two passions: wine and horseracing. Time after time his decisions would be ignored, derided, then finally envied and imitated, as whole industries watched him become a billionaire and tried to keep up. He reinvented himself at mid-life, and became founder and CEO of Kendall-Jackson. The empire he constructed endures and thrives even after his death in 2011. In A Man and His Mountain, Edward Humes brings us the no-holds-barred tale of the brilliant, infuriating, successful man who seemed to win more than his share by staying far ahead of the pack.

Edward Humes (Author)
Mel Foster (Reader)