The first time Randy Ullom laid eyes on California, he wasn’t impressed.
Born in Michigan and raised in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, he was accustomed to the lush, green landscapes of his youth. But California, which at the time had been enduring a five-year drought, was “dusty, brown and horrible.”
“I’d been offered a winemaking job at Buena Vista Winery and thought, ‘why would anybody want to live in California?’” he said. “The earth looked dead. I just couldn’t do it.”
But Ullom wasn’t the type to shy away from a challenge. On the contrary, he had spent his late teens and early twenties in Chile during the early 1970s, a time of intense political upheaval marked by a military coup and the rise of Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.
Ullom, who’d braved the coup for a chance to ski in the Andes, was disappointed to learn his skiing would have to wait – not because of the coup, but because a recent volcanic eruption had made the journey impossible.
Unruffled, Ullom chose to stay in Chile, a life-changing decision that would eventually lead him to cross paths with Sonoma County vintner Jess Jackson.
A shared passion for Chardonnay
During his time in Chile, Ullom developed an interest in winemaking. So upon returning to the U.S., he earned a degree in enology and viticulture from Ohio State University.
After turning down the winemaking gig at Buena Vista Winery, he spent five years making wine in upstate New York, where his love of Chardonnay bloomed. Unfortunately, it was too cold for Chardonnay to thrive in New York, so he decided to give California another chance.
In 1981, Cecil and Christine DeLoach of DeLoach Vineyards in the Russian River Valley invited Ullom to join their team, where he would oversee the production of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. He happily accepted the offer and spent the next 12 years helping expand the winery’s facilities and wine production.
Meanwhile, Jess Jackson caught wind of Ullom, who shared his passion for Chardonnay, Chile and Chilean wines.
“I’d been going back to Chile every year because I loved it so much, and Jess was doing the same thing,” Ullom said. “He realized the coastal regions of Chile and California are very similar. If he ever ran out of land in California, he could always go to Chile.”
Over the years, Jackson tried, without success, to lure Ullom to Kendall-Jackson Wines. But in 1993, he made a job offer Ullom couldn’t resist.
“He said, ‘Randy, I want you to do three things for me,’” Ullom recalled. “First, go down to Santa Barbara and make some Chardonnay and Pinot there. Then, go to Mendocino and make wine there. Finally, get on a plane and go down to Chile — we want to start making wine down there.’”
During his tenure, Ullom helped establish Dakél, a winery in southern Chile that produces Chardonnay and Pinot Noir under the Jackson Family Wines label. Jackson also enlisted him to help launch the company’s barrel stave mill in France, as well as wineries in Italy, Argentina, France and Australia.
“Jess and I had tremendous faith in and respect for each other,” Ullom said. “He was super smart, intriguing and very down to earth. It was a huge honor and privilege to work with him.”
Ullom later took the reins as Kendall-Jackson’s wine master — a role he loved. For three years, he also served as the company’s chief operating officer, until the call of the cellar drew him back to wine production.
Quality rules
Since Ullom joined Kendall-Jackson in 1993, the family-owned company has expanded to encompass 50 brands, including La Crema in Santa Rosa and Cambria in Santa Barbara County, as well as luxury labels such as Verité, Lokoya and Cardinale.
Ullom credits part of the company’s success to Jess Jackson’s “unequivocal” commitment to quality — a precedent he set early on.
“Quality ruled — with people, grapes, land, equipment, everything — there was never a debate,” Ullom said. “We’ve continued to take the high road, no matter what, and the company’s grown eightfold.”
Following Jackson’s death in 2011, his wife, Barbara Banke, assumed the leadership of Jackson Family Wines and has since significantly grown the company.
“You know that saying, ‘Behind every great man is a great woman?’” Ullom said. “Barbara will go down in history as even smarter than Jess. He had a vision, but Barbara has taken the company to a whole new level.”
Banke, who has extended the company’s reach to Oregon, Washington State, Canada and England, shows no signs of slowing down. As Ullom finishes up his 33rd and final harvest at Kendall-Jackson, she knows “Jess would be proud.”
“Randy has been part of our family for nearly three decades and helped make our Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay a household name,” she said. “We are so grateful for everything he’s done and proud of the legacy he’s built. I hope he enjoys more time on the (ski) slopes and knows he’ll always be our biggest Chardonnay fan.”
An extended family
Last year, Ullom’s parents both passed away at the age of 95, having traveled the world until their mid-80s. Ullom, who’s 72, figures that gives him about “15 years left to be footloose and fancy-free” during retirement.
After leaving Kendall-Jackson, he plans to spend quality time on the ski slopes, catch up on 30 years’ worth of books and relax at his home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He’ll also continue to manage the company’s small wine project in Chile.
Looking back on his career, Ullom is proud of the talented team he built at Kendall-Jackson over the years — one he calls “a formidable force.” He’s also proud of his successful efforts to raise wages for the winery’s vineyard and cellar workers.
“It was very dear to my heart that I was able to do something really positive for these people,” he said.
While Ullom is now officially stepping down from Kendall-Jackson and has handed the reins to winemaker Kris Kato, his respect for the Jackson family remains unwavering.
“It’s definitely hard to be leaving, but Barbara has made it 1,000% clear that everyone who works for the company is part of their extended family,” he said, his eyes glistening. “I’ve been very blessed and lucky.”