Jackson Family Wines signs up with Matthew Clark

Californian wine producer Jackson Family Wines has signed a distribution partnership with Matthew Clarke for two of its premium wine brands.

Wines from Napa’s Freemark Abbey and Sonama’s Wild Ridge will be distributed through Matthew Clark, targeting the on-trade.

Jackson Family Wines’ senior sales director for Europe & the Middle East Lori Buchanan said the move would expand and enrich the two brands’ national distribution. “These two wineries have a fascinating pedigree and will appeal to restaurants that we have never reached before,” she said.

Simon Jerrome, head of wine buying at Conviviality Trading & Direct said it was a privilege to be entrusted with the wines from the two well-known wineries

Craig McAllister, the winemaker for Wild Ridge

“Freemark Abbey, including the iconic Cabernets, are a great fit for our on-trade business and well placed to take advantage of the growth we are seeing in wines from California,” he said. “Wild Ridge Pinot Noir is a lovely wine with a fantastic history and story to tell and will soon become a key part of our Pinot Noir offering to the on trade.”

Freemark Abbey was founded in 1886 by one of California’s earliest female vintners, Josephine Tychson, becoming one of the twelve US wines to compete in the Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976. The winery is currently run by Ted Edwards, who has been head winemaker since 1985.

Wild Ridge, which is situated at 900 feet above sea level only four miles from the Pacific Ocean and boasts one the more demanding sites in California, is run by New Zealand winemaker Craig McAllister.

Jackson Family Wines has recently expanded its portfolio, adding Copain Wines in California and the Penner-Ash Wine Cellars in Oregon this year, as well as paying $4.6m (£3.2m) for land to establish a large facility in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, close to the four Oregon vineyards it acquired in 2013.

Jackson Family Wines has around 40 wine brands in its portfolio, with substantial vineyards of around 12,500 hectares in California in addition to around 444 hectares of vineyards in Oregon. It also makes wine in Australia, Chile, France, Italy and South Africa.