Thunderbird (wine)

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Thunderbird
Thunderbirdbottlevancouver.jpg
Type Flavored fortified wine
Manufacturer E. & J. Gallo Winery
Distributor E. & J. Gallo Winery
OriginUnited States
Introduced1957
Alcohol by volume 17.5
Proof (US) 35
ColourYellow
FlavourCitrus

Thunderbird was a discount, flavored fortified wine marketed by E. & J. Gallo Winery in the United States. The wine was originally sold at 20% ABV, [1] later changed to 17.5% ABV. [2]

Contents

History

In the 1940s, Ernest Gallo wanted to expand his wine-making business by marketing to groups he felt were underserved but potentially lucrative. [3] After several new products failed on the market, including a beverage marketed towards women called Gallo-ette and a low-alcohol apple wine called Scotty, he found success with Thunderbird, which was targeted to the African-American community.

A change in federal law during 1955 allowed wine to be modified with flavoring agents without resulting in a higher tax, which previously would have impacted the final price of the product. A Los Angeles Gallo salesman noticed liquor store cashiers kept a bottle of concentrated lemon juice behind the counter and would add this to bottles of white port wine upon the request of the African-American purchaser. Upon learning this, Gallo instructed his staff to develop a wine beverage which resulted in Thunderbird, a sweetened, fortified lemon-flavored port wine. This product was very successful, and sold 32 million gallons in 1957, its first year of production [3] enabling Gallo to reposition from third place to first place in the California wine market and eventually become the top winemaker in the US. [4]

Gallo employed celebrity actor James Mason to help market the wine in television ads. [5] Thunderbird is frequently mentioned in songs. [6]

An early radio jingle, which followed a blues theme, contained the lyrics: What's the word? Thunderbird! / How's it sold? Good and cold. / What's the jive? Bird's alive! / What's the price? Thirty twice.. Inflation later necessitated an update to the last line to "a dollar twice" [6]

As of 2018, the original wine was discontinued and the Thunderbird name and logo repurposed for a new range of traditional wines in black bottles. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Rowland, Marijke. "What's the word? Gallo's Thunderbird wine is back and ready to rock and roll" . Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  2. ↑ Snyder, Molly (20 January 2011). "Guide to bum wine". OnMilwaukee. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 Pinney, Thomas (7 May 2012). The Makers of American Wine: A Record of Two Hundred Years. University of California Press. pp. 143–145. ISBN   978-0-520-26953-8 . Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  4. ↑ Humes, Edward (22 October 2013). A Man and his Mountain: The Everyman who Created Kendall-Jackson and Became AmericaÕs Greatest Wine Entrepreneur. PublicAffairs. p. 147. ISBN   978-1-61039-285-3 . Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Veseth, Mike (17 July 2013). Extreme Wine: Searching the World for the Best, the Worst, the Outrageously Cheap, the Insanely Overpriced, and the Undiscovered. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. ISBN   978-1-4422-1924-3 . Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  6. 1 2 Martin, Scott C. (16 December 2014). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives. SAGE Publications. p. 1404. ISBN   978-1-4833-3108-9 . Retrieved 4 September 2025.

See also

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