KENTUCKY WHOLESALERS SUSPICIOUS OF KENDALL JACKSON

Kentucky wholesalers are attempting to bar two Kendall-Jackson wineries from obtaining a license to deliver direct shipments to consumers on the grounds that the wineries exceed the state’s volume cap. Kentucky law only allows farm wineries that produce no more than 50,000 gallons a year to fill direct orders via the phone or internet.

According to the Courier-Journal, the California wineries, Atalon and La Jota, each produce less than 20,000 gallons a year but are both owned by Jess Jackson. Although their wines are reportedly sold in Kentucky retail stores via wholesalers, the wineries are hoping to branch out to direct shipments. A spokesman for both wineries insists their marketing and management teams are entirely separate from the rest of the Kendall-Jackson empire, although both wineries are listed as subsidiaries of Jackson Family Farms. Currently, Kentucky’s law does not deal with the issue of a large company owning smaller vineyards.