A MAN AND HIS MOUNTAIN The Everyman Who Created Kendall-Jackson and Became America's Greatest Wine Entrepreneur

Jess Jackson's Kendall-Jackson wine, a favorite of the Reagans, helped popularize California chardonnay. The process of figuring out the scrappy Jackson made his own family into "wine-country criminologists." Mel Foster mostly narrates Edward Humes's bio of Jackson as a radio announcer would. It's not fancy, but it's easy to listen to. Jackson's personality, from his contrarian business strategies to his fascination with French oak barrels, comes through as Foster drops just the gentlest hints of emotion and temperament into his reading. Humes does some excellent detective work in piecing together the late entrepreneur's life, and it's a fascinating one. Even a teetotaler might drink in the story of the former cop and lawyer's last, greatest career. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2014]