JAX VINEYARDS, North Coast
The JAX story is a relatively short one in the winemaking world. Brother and sister, Trent & Kimberly Jackson collaborated with their father to create the business in 1996. Right from the get-go, they focused their efforts on the unique terroir of their family vineyard located north of Calistoga in the renowned Napa Valley. Key to this vision was their astute decision to hire cult winemaker Kirk Venge who helped them craft balanced wines that reflected varietal character and a sense of place from the beautiful volcanic alluvial soil that their vineyard was blessed with.
A few years later, to differentiate from their small lot single vineyard Jax line, the siblings launched ‘Y3’. The purpose of this range was to offer wines to scale as well as more ‘true to varietal’ wines from various AVAs spanning the North Coast of California from Napa to Sonoma. (Y3 is the symbol used on their grandparent’s cattle ranch, Yarrayne with ‘3’ representing the three generations). While the Y3 range is made to scale, the same uncompromising craftsmanship seen in the single vineyard wines is present here, whether this be sourcing the fruit from very selected sites within Napa Valley or Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, hand-harvesting into small bins, the gentle use of small open top fermenters and the thoughtful aging of the wines in French oak barrels, these wines underscore their commitment to wine expression without unnecessary manipulation. And the wine critics agree.
If you are in San Francisco, they have a delightful tasting room in the SOMA district that is well worth a visit.