Brett Jackson

The Climb

Work in New Zealand starting in 1990 established Brett Jackson in a setting where vineyard character and varietal nuance mattered from the start. From there, his winemaking expanded through Napa, California, South Africa, and France, building a practice shaped by movement and adaptation. Today, Brett is Chief Winemaker of Viña Valdivieso.

Today

At Viña Valdivieso in Lontué, Chile, the head winemaker and Chief Winemaker role places Brett Jackson at the center of the estate’s wine program. A New Zealander working in Chile, he brings a Pinot Noir specialty into a house position that depends on balancing grape, site, season, and cellar choice. The work sits between definition and flexibility: specific in its varietal focus, open to what each vintage and place require. His view of Pinot Noir starts in the vineyard, where the aim is to keep site expression intact rather than forcing a standard result. Brett Jackson describes harvest timing as part of that discipline: “I am trying extremely hard to capture the unique expression each site offers me by harvesting earlier where the fruit expression is fresher and a better reflection of the vineyard.” That same approach continues in the cellar. Brett Jackson frames cooler fermentation as a way to hold detail and avoid a generic outcome: “I’m fermenting cooler to retain this unique expression and not become a generic Pinot Noir.” Oak follows the same logic, with less new wood used so the vineyard remains readable in the finished wine: “There’s also less use of new oak, so as to maintain the pureness of the vineyard.”

Signature

Brett's signature wines include Caballo Loco, Caballo Loco Blanco N°1, and 2014 Caballo Loco Grand Cru Limari. Taken together, they sit alongside the clearer thread of his Pinot Noir focus, marking the range of a winemaker whose work is defined by both house identity and the disciplined pursuit of freshness, site character, and balance.

In Their Words “I am trying extremely hard to capture the unique expression each site offers me by harvesting earlier where the fruit expression is fresher and a better reflection of the vineyard.” “I’m fermenting cooler to retain this unique expression and not become a generic Pinot Noir.”

Recognition

Jackson is recognized through the clarity of the role he holds and the narrowness of the craft note attached to his name: Pinot Noir. His work at Viña Valdivieso in Lontué, Chile, reflects a focus on vineyard expression, freshness, cooler fermentation, and less new oak. That is a line of practice rather than display. The current role gives it an address; the Pinot Noir work gives it shape.