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Kendall-Jackson Founder Dies; a Fight Over Calling Wine ‘Mommyjuice’

I think Mommy needs a spanking too!
I think Mommy needs a spanking too!

• Jess Jackson, the 81-year-old founder of Kendall-Jackson winery and the richest man in Sonoma County, died Thursday after a battle with cancer. [Press Democrat, Chron, Inside Scoop]

• This is dumb: A New Jersey–based wine distributor selling wine labeled as “Mommy’s Time Out” is suing California winery Clos Lachance for trademark infringement over their “Mommyjuice” label. [Thomson Reuters]

• Yet another major food-and-wine fest to add to the already busy national circuit: Los Angeles Food & Wine will have its inaugural fest this October. [Grub Street LA]

• The New York Times tries to decide if $410 is too much to pay for a corkscrew. [NYT]

• And still more Francis Ford Coppola news this week, as contractors who worked on his grand new Winery Park project in Sonoma are suing for $1.8 million in final payments, which were stalled over disagreements about the construction. [Press Democrat, Earlier]

Wine Spectator unveiled a smartphone app this week: VintageChart+ with automatically updated charts of vintages for 54 of the world’s winemaking regions. [Wine Spectator]

• Sommelier and wine writer Larry Stone: “Winemaking is as subject to the fashions of the moment as art.” [Atlantic]

Kendall-Jackson Founder Dies; a Fight Over Calling Wine ‘Mommyjuice’