E & J Gallo Winery

E & J Gallo Winery

E. & J. Gallo Winery was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo in Modesto, California. E. & J. Gallo Winery is the largest exporter of California wines. The company has been pivotal in establishing Sonoma County as one of the premier wine growing regions in the world.

History

The two brothers started the winery following the repeal of Prohibition after years of growing and selling grapes. Ernest and Julio were competing against larger, more established, and better financed companies, including more than 800 wine companies in the first few years after Prohibition in California alone. Their starting capital was less than $6,000, with $5,000 of that borrowed by Ernest from his mother-in-law. They 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 (Zimmerman).

In 1988, 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, which evidence submitted by Joseph's attorney's suggested was actually started by the father. Joseph Gallo lost both suits and was forced to change his business name to Joseph Farms [http://www.josephfarms.com/] .

Today, E. & J. Gallo Winery is the largest family-owned winery in the United States. 13 members of the family’s second- and third-generation work for the company. In addition to the Gallo Family Vineyards brand, the company makes wine under other labels including Louis M. Martini, Mirassou Vineyards, MacMurray Ranch, Rancho Zabaco, Ecco Domani, Frei Brothers, Red Bicyclette, Bella Sera, Turning Leaf, Black Swan, Sebeka, Twin Valley, Napa Valley Vineyards, Barefoot, Thunderbird, Night Train Express, and Bridlewood. [http://jobs.gallo.com/Portfolio/TableWines.asp]

On September 14, 2007, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced that it inked a partnership with E & J Gallo Winery to produce a wine brand with label "Martha Stewart Vintage" (for sale in 6 cities, January, at $15). 15,000 cases to be sold include: 2006 Sonoma County Chardonnay, 2005 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon and 2006 Sonoma County Merlot (for Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina, Denver, Phoenix, and Portland, Oregon). [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070914/ap_on_bi_ge/martha_stewart_wines Yahoo.com, Martha Stewart to sell signature wine] ]

Production

In the vineyard, E. & J. Gallo Winery took the lead in developing and implementing the Code of Sustainable Wine Growing Practices, in a collaborative effort 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. E. & J. Gallo Winery also was the first winery in the United States to receive the prestigious ISO 14001 certification from the International Organization for Standardization. The certification was created to assist and guide companies throughout the world to reduce their impacts on the environment.

Marketing

Through their winery, Ernest and Julio were instrumental in introducing American consumers to wine and creating the modern U.S. wine market. They were among the pioneers of wine advertising on television and launched many memorable wine advertising campaigns. They were the first to introduce brand management and modern merchandising to the wine industry. They 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 (Zimmerman). They were also first to establish a truly significant foreign sales and marketing force to export California wines overseas.

Wine brands

*André is a brand of sparkling wine produced by the E & J Gallo Winery. It is the best-selling brand of sparkling wine in the United States. [ [http://jobs.gallo.com/Portfolio/sparkling.asp Portfolio ] ] It often sells for less than $4 per bottle. It is available in varieties including Brut, Extra Dry, Cold Duck, and strawberry flavored California Champagne, among others. [ [https://www.vendomes.com/c-71-champagne-sparkling.aspx] ] Despite the fact that the United States agreed in 2006 to not approve any new wine labels for US produced products that include the term "Champagne," André is an example of a grandfathered label that still legally uses this terminology.

One wine critic describes André's Brut California Champagne as "the sparkling wine (I use the term loosely) that many people cut their teeth on. It is much like ginger ale - pale yellow in color, lemony and on the sweet side, with maybe an apple flavor as well and low bubbles". André's California Champagne is bulk fermented. Therefore this is a wine that is neither from Champagne nor uses traditional Champagne wine making methods. [ [http://www.wineintro.com/champagne/tastings/class00.html Champagne & Sparkling Wine Tasting Notes ] ]

*Carlo Rossi is a brand of wine produced by the E. & J. Gallo Winery. The brand was named after Charles Rossi, at the time a salesman for Gallo and a relation of the Gallo family by marriage. Charlie Rossi starred in TV ads for the brand in the 1970s. Carlo Rossi is reflected in popular culture in E-40's single, "Carlos Rossi," and in indie culture in the name of the Carlo Rossi Jug Band. Carlo Rossi wines at one time were the second best selling brand in the United States. [http://www.supermarketguru.com/page.cfm/200]

Political Influence

E&J Gallo Winery have made significant campaign contributions to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.Fact|date=April 2008

Awards

E. & J. Gallo Winery ranks among the world’s most award-winning wineries and is the only American winery to be named "International Winery of the Year" three times (1998, 2001 and 2002). [http://jobs.gallo.com/whoweare/Achievements.asp]

ee also

*California wine
*American wine
*Wine Country
*Sonoma Valley
*Globalization of wine
*Boone's Farm
*Hornsby's Cider

External links

* [http://www.gallo.com/ "E.&J. Gallo Winery"]
* [http://www.gallofamily.co.uk/ "Gallo Family Vineyards"] (UK)
* [http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2006/11/16/AM200611162.html] 2006 public radio interview with co-president Joe Gallo.
* [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgallolaw.html Straight Dope: "Does the "Gallo Law" exempt the winery from estate taxes?"]
*cite news
first = Brian
last = Trumbore
title = The Creators of Thunderbird
url = http://www.buyandhold.com/bh/en/education/history/2007/thunderbird.html
publisher = BUY and HOLD, a division of Freedom Investments, Inc.
date = 2007
accessdate = 2008-04-11

*cite news
title = So You Want To Buy A President
url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/president/players/gallo.html
publisher = WGBH, Frontline (PBS)
date = 1996-01
accessdate = 2008-04-11

*cite news
title = A Short History of Gallo
url = http://wine.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Gallo_Wine
publisher = wine.lovetoknow.com (LoveToKnow Corp.)
date = 2006-06-14
accessdate = 2008-04-11

*cite news
title = Ernest Gallo (Obituary)
url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/08/db0802.xml
publisher = The Daily Telegraph
date = 2007-03-08
accessdate = 2008-04-11

Further reading

*How to sell Gallo to the French. "Decanter", 2006 (June), page 160.
*Zimmerman, Lisa. Reinventing Gallo. "Market Watch", 2004 (November-December), 1-14.
*Hawkes, Ellen. "Blood and Wine: Unauthorized Story of the Gallo Wine Empire". Simon & Schuster, 1993.

References


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