GALLO | |
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Location | Modesto, California, United States |
Formerly | E & J Gallo Winery |
Other labels | Don Miguel Gascon, Louis Martini, Ecco Domani, Mirassou Winery, New Amsterdam, J Vineyards, Barefoot, Apothic, Shellback rum among others |
Founded | 1933 |
Key people | Ernest Gallo (founder) Julio Gallo (founder) Gina Gallo (winemaker) Stephanie Gallo |
Varietals | Cabernet Sauvignon , Chardonnay , Merlot , Pinot noir , Sauvignon blanc , Syrah |
Distribution | International |
Website | www.gallo.com, gallofamily.co.uk |
GALLO is a winery and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. It was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo of the Gallo family, and is the largest exporter of California wines. It is the largest wine producer in the world, producing over 3% of the world's entire annual supply of 35 billion bottles with an annual revenue of $5.3 billion [1] [2] it is also the largest family-owned winery in the United States. [3] Gallo provides about 3,500 jobs to Modesto residents and 2,500 jobs in other parts of the state, country, and world (meaning that most of its employment base is in Modesto). [4]
During Prohibition in the United States, Ernest and Julio Gallo grew grapes and sold them to Eastern states where home winemaking was allowed. [5]
On June 14, 1933, Ernest Gallo filed an application with the Prohibition administration to open a bonded wine storeroom in San Francisco. On June 20, his application was rejected. He was advised that in order to open a storeroom, he had to own a bonded winery. And in order to be bonded as a winery, he had to own vineyards. Ernest and Julio then took steps to bond a winery in the name of their newly formed partnership, E & J Gallo. They had stationery printed that included two designations next to their name: “winery” and “grape growers and shippers.” Their father's estate owned both the grape growing and shipping businesses as well as the vineyards required to establish a winery, at that juncture. Ernest applied on this letterhead to the Board of Alcohol for approval. He wrote that he and Julio were “grape growers with over 400 acres of grapes.” [6]
The two brothers started the winery in the fall of 1933, [7] following the repeal of Prohibition. [1] Ernest and Julio were competing against larger, more established, and better financed companies, including more than 800 wine companies established in California in the first few years after the repeal of Prohibition. Their starting capital was less than $6,000 ($140,494 inflation-adjusted to 2024), with $5,000 of that borrowed by Ernest from his mother-in-law, Teresa Franzia. [8] The brothers learned the craft of commercial winemaking by reading old, pre-Prohibition pamphlets published by the University of California which they retrieved from the basement of the Modesto Public Library. [9] Julio was focused on the production of wine, and Ernest on its sale. [10] They had just one tractor, and would run it permanently on 12/12 hour shifts. On the first year of activity, the brothers had produced 177,000 gallons of wine. [5]
In 1957, E & J Gallo launched the fortified cheap white wine Thunderbird. In 1962, E & J Gallo launched the one gallon finger-ringed jug of cheap wine, Red Mountain, later Carlo Rossi Red Mountain, named after a winery above Oakdale that closed during Prohibition. [11] [12] [13] Later, the US market began to move away from cheap wines. [5] Ernest and Julio were the first to introduce brand management and modern merchandising to the wine industry, and led the way in bringing new products to store shelves. They were first in breakthrough quality initiatives such as long-term grower contracts for varietal grapes and grape research programs. [9] They were also first to establish a truly significant foreign sales and marketing force to export California wines overseas. [1] They pioneered wine advertising on television and launched many wine advertising campaigns. (One of these helped to popularize "Hymne", composed and performed by Vangelis, by featuring it as background music in some of its television commercials.) [9] The company's 1960s ads were focused on associating their US-made wines with Europe's fine wine regions. [14] In 1983, for the first time, the company put a vintage date on one of its wines, the 1978 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon. [15]
During the 1980s and 1990s, E & J Gallo bought wine labels from Europe and Australia. [5] By 1993, E & J Gallo was the country's largest winery, with a 25% share of the American wine market. [7] Julio Gallo died in a car accident on 2 May 1993. [10] Ernest died in 2007, and his son Joe Gallo took over the company as CEO. [15]
In 2002 E & J Gallo purchased the Louis M. Martini Winery, giving the company its first Napa Valley location. [16] On September 14, 2007, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced a partnership with E & J Gallo Winery to produce a brand of wine labelled "Martha Stewart Vintage". [17] In 2011, E & J Gallo sold Hornsby's hard cider to the C&C Group for an undisclosed amount [18] and partnered with Boisset Collection to purchase the Mondavi estate. [19] In 2017, E & J Gallo Winery bought the Napa Valley Stagecoach vineyard. [20]
In April 2019, Constellation Brands Inc. announced a deal to sell wine brands, including Clos du Bois and Mark West, to E & J Gallo Winery for $1.7 billion. [21] [22] The deal was later amended, twice, to exclude sparkling wine brands Cook's California 'Champagne' and J. Roget American 'Champagne' (both retained by Constellation for four years post final agreement), Paul Masson Brandy which was divested to Sazerac Company Inc., Sheffield Cellars and Fairbanks divested to Precept Brands LLC, and its High Color Concentrates division was divested to Vie-Del Company. [23] for an adjusted price agreement of $1.1B, of which $250 million is an earnout if brand performance provisions are met over a two-year period after closing. [24] [25] Agreement was finalized on January 6, 2021, for $810 million. [26]
In 2020, the University of California, Merced was planning on opening its first new school since it launched, the Ernest & Julio Gallo School of Management, a multi-disciplinary school encompassing many different disciplines. [27]
In 2024, more than 90 years after Ernest and Julio founded their namesake E. & J. Gallo Winery, the company has simplified the company name to a single word: GALLO. [28]
Gallo helped develop and implement the Code of Sustainable Wine Growing Practices, [29] in collaboration with the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers.
The Code promotes sustainable practices which are environmentally sound, economically feasible and socially equitable. It covers virtually every aspect of the wine business including viticulture and grape growing, wine making, purchasing and building and maintaining productive relationships with neighbors and the local communities. [30]
Gallo received ISO 14001 certification from the International Organization for Standardization. [3] The certification was created to globally assist and guide companies to reduce their environmental impact.
In April 2009, the California State Water Resources Control Board served Gallo Glass Co. (a Gallo Winery subsidiary) with a cease and desist order and $73,000 fine [31] for allegedly channeling water from the Russian River into an unlicensed reservoir; [31] however, there are provisions for licensing the reservoir under proper monitoring of flow and capacity. [32]
In March 2015, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control sued the E & J Gallo glass production plant in Modesto for improper storage and treatment of the glass bottles. E & J Gallo would use the dust collected by its air pollution control devices, and introduce it in the components of their glass bottles during production. E & J Gallo argued that this process was standard in the wine industry. [33]
In February 2023, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board ordered E &J Gallo to pay $378,668 in fines for discharging irrigation and waste water into the Merced River, posing a threat to the health of fish and other aquatic life. [34]
Viticulturists at Gallo use their vineyard resources to trial new grape variety plantings in California wine regions in an effort to see which varieties grow best in various climates and soil types. One of the varieties that Gallo has been trialing in the San Joaquin Valley is the French wine grape Ederena. [35]
Advertising Age noted that "the Gallo experience," during the 1950s, '60s, '70s and 1980s, wore down many an ad agency. [36] Ernest Gallo was listed in the periodical's "The TOUGHEST Clients" series.
E & J Gallo Winery was named the "Bon Appetit Winery of the Year" in the 1996, 1998, and 2001 San Francisco International Wine Competitions. [37]
Intangible Business, a brand valuation firm, [38] rated Gallo as the world's "Most Powerful Wine Brand" in 2006, [39] 2007, [40] 2008, [41] and 2009. [42]
In 1970, David Gallo was considering suing country rock group Boones Farm over the use of the name, Boones Farm. [43]
In 1986, the Gallo brothers sued their younger brother Joseph for selling cheese branded with the Joseph Gallo Farms name. Joseph then counterclaimed, alleging that Ernest and Julio conspired to steal his share of the inheritance from their father. This claim included the winery, where the evidence submitted by Joseph's attorney suggested that it was actually started by their father. Joseph Gallo lost both suits and was forced to change the name of his business to Joseph Farms. [44]
In the 1990s, Gallo Winery made an agreement with Gallo Pasta (a Spanish company) that the latter would not sell their pasta in the United States. [45] Gallo filed a cease-and-desist order [46] [47] in April 2009 against "The Spanish Table", a Seattle-based specialty food retailer, for carrying the pasta despite the previous agreement with the maker. [45]
In February 2010, twelve French winemakers and traders who had supplied wine to Gallo for its Red Bicyclette brand were found guilty in a French court of fraud, as they had claimed an inferior wine sold to Gallo was Pinot noir. [48]
In October 2019, a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of California claimed Gallo used patented technology without a license to develop their irrigation system. [49]
![]() | This section needs expansionwith: the dispute(s) of the 1970s. You can help by adding to it. (February 2021) |
The United Farm Workers (UFW) began boycotting Gallo in the summer of 1973 after Gallo did not renew their contract and signed with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. [50] Led by Cesar Chavez, the UFW alleged that Gallo had worked out a "sweetheart deal" with the teamsters that offered fewer protections and that workers did not agree to teamster representation. An estimated 10,000 workers and supporters of the UFW marched 100 miles over the course of a week to the Gallo winery in Modesto. [50]
Supporters of the boycott nationwide protested the buying and selling of Gallo wines, including student groups at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA who demanded a boycott of Gallo by the university and picketed local stores. [51] The boycott against Gallo was called off by the UFW in 1978 after the union felt it had improved workers' rights of representation in labor disputes. [51]
In October 2009, the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (CALRB) revoked a 2007 election to eject the United Farm Workers from Gallo Winery, [52] citing interference from Gallo. This was the second time in a decade a vote to remove the union was overturned due to allegations of Gallo illegally trying to influence proceedings; the other was a 2003 ruling in which the CALRB threw out an election citing a foreman improperly requesting signatures for the petition for the vote. [53] Gallo appealed that decision.
In 2023, Gallo laid off 355 of its California workers after a Texas company, Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC) took control of handling partnerships with chain retailers in California. [54]
In addition to the Gallo Family Vineyards brand, the company makes, markets, and distributes wine under more than 100 other labels. [55] [56] The company also makes the low-end fortified wines Thunderbird and Night Train Express.
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine is usually either white or rosé, but there are examples of red sparkling wines such as the Italian Brachetto, Bonarda and Lambrusco, and the Australian sparkling Shiraz. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry brut styles to sweeter doux varieties.
Paul Masson was an early pioneer of California viticulture known for his brand of Californian sparkling wine.
Franzia is a brand of wine produced by The Wine Group, known for its box wines sold in 3 and 5-liter cartons. Franzia wines, throughout their history, were known as affordable table wines, popular in the 1960s and 1970s as "jug wine", and now as "box wine". The Wine Group is the third largest wine company in the world, behind Constellation Brands and the E&J Gallo Winery. The Franzia brand today has no business relationship with Fred Franzia of the Bronco Wine Company, known for its low-cost Charles Shaw wines. The Franzia family sold the brand to Coca-Cola in 1973 when Fred Franzia was in his early adult years; and it was sold to The Wine Group in 1981.
The Bronco Wine Company is a vintner that produces wine under many brands, such as Amusant Bubbly and Ballett Vineyards, and is based south of Ceres, California. It is the fourth largest producer of wine in the United States. Bronco Wine Co has an estimated 10,000 employees globally. There are two companies in the Bronco Wine Co. corporate family.
Heitz Cellar is a California wine producer located within Napa Valley east of the town of St. Helena. An early modern era Napa Valley presence and pioneering exponent of French oak, the estate enjoys a historical renown with the success of its Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and has also been described as a "master of Grignolino".
Wine has been produced in the United States since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. As of 2023, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 80.8% of all US wine. The North American continent is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.
The glossary of wine terms lists the definitions of many general terms used within the wine industry. For terms specific to viticulture, winemaking, grape varieties, and wine tasting, see the topic specific list in the "See also" section below.
Ernest J. Gallo was an American businessman and philanthropist. Gallo co-founded the E & J Gallo Winery in Modesto, California.
Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County, California. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier wine regions in the world. Records of commercial wine production in the region date back to the nineteenth century, but premium wine production dates back only to the 1960s.
Heidi Peterson Barrett is an American winemaker and entrepreneur who has been responsible for some of California's most notable cult wines. Her career has included stints at Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle Vineyards, Paradigm Winery, Grace Family Vineyards, Amuse Bouche, Lamborn Family, Showket Vineyards, Revana Family Vineyards, Vineyard 29 and Fantesca Estate & Winery. Barrett is a consultant for Elizabeth Spencer and has her own wine label, La Sirena.
Domaine Chandon is a winery located in the town of Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Established in 1973 by Moët et Chandon, and led by businessman John Wright, who operated the company for over 20 years, it was the first French-owned sparkling wine producer in the Napa Valley.
Dawnine Sample Dyer is an American winemaker and entrepreneur who pioneered the use of champagne-making methods in California's fledgling sparkling wine industry in the 1970s.
California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra who planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Frog's Leap Winery is a California wine producer that operates from Rutherford. It was founded in 1981 on a spot along Mills Creek known as Frog Farm. Frog's Leap Winery was established by John Williams and Larry Turley.
The Gallo family is an American wine family. The father, Giuseppe "Joseph" Gallo, Sr., immigrant from Fossano, Italy, after a period of menial labor started farming grapes, founded a winery, and died in a murder-suicide when he shot his wife and then killed himself.
Schramsberg Vineyards is a winery located in Calistoga, California in the Napa Valley region. The vineyard, which was founded in 1862 by the German immigrant Jacob Schram, produces a series of sparkling wines using the same method as champagne. Schramsberg is considered one of the premium brands in the production of sparkling wine in California and the first U.S. wine to "match the style and quality of the best French Champagnes".
Jean-Charles Boisset is a French vintner and the proprietor of the Boisset Collection, which operates 28 wineries in California, France, and Canada.
Louis M. Martini Winery is a winery and distributor headquartered in Napa Valley, California.
She began working as secretary and janitor in the fledgling Gallo family business shortly after Ernest and Julio Gallo started the E. & J. Gallo Winery in Modesto in 1933. Today, the company is the nation's largest winery, with more than a quarter of the American wine market.
Included in the purchase were wine brands: Clos du Bois, Black Box, Ravenswood, Estancia, Mark West, Franciscan, Toasted Head, Hogue Cellars, Wild Horse, Blackstone, Vendange, Rex Goliath, Diseno, Hidden Crush, Taylor Country Cellars, Blufeld, Manischewitz, Wild Irish Rose, Arbor Mist, Milestone, La Terre, Taylor Dessert, Paul Masson Dessert, Capri, Cribari Dessert, Primal Roots, Taylor NY Table, Paul Masson Table, Simply Naked, Cribari Table, and V.NO. Also included in the deal were sparkling wine brands Cook's and J. Roget and Paul Masson brandy.
Word Mark: MATTHEW FOX—Goods and Services: IC 033. US 047 049. G & S: WINES. FIRST USE: 20041001. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20041001— Owner (REGISTRANT) E. & J. GALLO WINERY CORPORATION CALIFORNIA 600 YOSEMITE BOULEVARD MODESTO CALIFORNIA 95354
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