GALLO (also stylized Gallo, previously E. & J. Gallo Winery) is an American wine producer and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. The company was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo of the Gallo family and primarily produces California wines. It is the largest family-owned winery in the United States and reported an annual revenue of $5.3 billion.
Muskrat trappers in Delacroix, Louisiana, 1941, gathered around a large bottle of "Cream of California - California Claret", an early Gallo mass-produced wine
The winery was established in the fall of 1933, following the repeal of Prohibition. The Gallos' starting capital was less than $6,000 ($152,240 in 2026), with $5,000 borrowed by Ernest from his mother-in-law, Teresa Franzia. The brothers studied commercial oenology by reading pre-Prohibition pamphlets published by the University of California, which they retrieved from the basement of the Modesto Public Library. Julio focused on the production of wine, and Ernest on its sale. Early operations utilized a single tractor operated on consecutive 12-hour shifts. In their first year of activity, the brothers produced 177,000 gallons of wine.
In 1957, Gallo began selling a fortifiedwhite wine called Thunderbird. In 1962, the company launched the one-gallon finger-ringed jug of wine, Red Mountain, which was later marketed under the Carlo Rossi brand, named after a winery above Oakdale that had closed during Prohibition. As the US wine market gradually shifted away from lower-cost wines, Ernest and Julio introduced modern brand-management practices into the wine industry, and established long-term grower contracts for varietal grapes, as well as grape research programs. Additionally, the company built a foreign sales and marketing operation to export California wines. Gallo's 1960s advertisements were designed to associate their US-made wines with Europe's fine wine regions.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Gallo bought wine labels from Europe and Australia. By 1993, the company was the country's largest winery, holding a 25% share of the American wine market. Julio Gallo died in a car accident on May 2, 1993. Following Ernest's death in 2007, his son, Joe Gallo, took over the company as CEO.
In 2002, Gallo purchased the Louis M. Martini Winery, providing the company with its first location in Napa Valley. On September 14, 2007, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced a partnership with Gallo to produce a brand of wine labeled "Martha Stewart Vintage." In 2011, Gallo sold Hornsby's hard cider to the C&C Group for an undisclosed amount and partnered with the Boisset Collection to purchase the Mondavi estate. In 2017, Gallo bought the Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa Valley.
In April 2019, Constellation Brands Inc. announced a deal to sell wine brands, including Clos du Bois and Mark West, to Gallo for $1.7 billion. 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). Under the amended terms, Paul Masson Brandy was divested to Sazerac Company Inc., while Sheffield Cellars and Fairbanks were sold to Precept Brands LLC, and its High Color Concentrates division was divested to Vie-Del Company. The deal, now with an adjusted price agreement of $1.1B, included a $250 million earn-out if brand performance provisions were met over two years after closing. The agreement was finalized on January 6, 2021, for $810 million.
In 2020, the University of California, Merced announced plans for the Ernest & Julio Gallo School of Management, the first new school established at the campus since its opening.
In 2024, the company shortened its name to GALLO.
Legacy
Ecological impact
In collaboration with the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers, Gallo helped develop and implement the Code of Sustainable Wine Growing Practices, which addresses viticulture, grape growing, winemaking, and facility operations, with the overall goal of reducing the environmental impact of wine production.
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 a $73,000 fine for allegedly channeling water from the Russian River into an unlicensed reservoir – there are provisions for licensing the reservoir under proper monitoring of flow and capacity.
In March 2015, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control sued Gallo Glass Company in Modesto over the alleged improper storage and recycling of hazardous dust used in wine bottle production. The company said the material was being recycled in accordance with standard industry practice.
In February 2023, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board ordered Gallo to pay $378,668 in fines for discharging irrigation and wastewater into the Merced River, which the board stated posed a threat to the health of fish and other aquatic life.
Gallo was named the "Bon Appétit Winery of the Year" in the 1996, 1998, and 2001 San Francisco International Wine Competitions.
Intangible Business, a brand valuation firm, rated Gallo as the world's "Most Powerful Wine Brand" in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.
Controversies
Legal disputes
In 1986, Ernest and Julio took legal action against their younger brother, Joseph, for using the Joseph Gallo Farms name on cheese products. Joseph sent in a counterclaim, alleging that the two brothers had conspired to deprive him of his rightful inheritance, including the winery itself, which his attorney argued was originally founded by their father. However, Joseph lost on both counts and was required to rebrand his business as Joseph Farms.
In the 1990s, Gallo Winery agreed with Gallo Pasta (a Spanish company) that the latter would not sell its pasta in the United States. Gallo filed a cease-and-desist order in April 2009, against "The Spanish Table", a Seattle-based specialty food retailer, for carrying the pasta despite the previous agreement with the manufacturer.
In February 2010, a French court convicted twelve winemakers and traders of fraud. They had mislabeled wine supplied to Gallo for its Red Bicyclette brand, falsely claiming that it was Pinot noir.
In October 2019, a lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of California that claimed Gallo used patented technology without a license to develop their irrigation system.
Labor relations
This section needs expansionwith: the dispute(s) of the 1970s. You can help by adding missing information. (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 (IBT). The dispute occurred during a broader period of labor conflict in California agriculture in the early 1970s. Following the contract expiration, the UFW called a strike beginning June 27, 1973, and organized a nationwide consumer boycott of Gallo products.
The conflict reflected broader tensions between the United Farm Workers and the Teamsters union, as growers across California signed agreements with different labor organizations during the period.
Led by Cesar Chavez, the UFW alleged that Gallo had worked out a "sweetheart deal" with the IBT that offered fewer protections. The UFW also alleged 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. A significant portion of workers participated in the strike, with the boycott continuing for several years.
Nationwide supporters of the boycott 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. In October 1974, approximately 70 demonstrators picketed a Harvard-area store, urging customers to boycott Gallo wine during the dispute. The boycott also coincided with broader legislative changes in California, including the 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which established formal union election procedures for farmworkers.
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.
Lessening union power influence led to cancellations of union contracts in both Napa County and Sonoma County in the 2000s.
In October 2009, the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (CALRB) revoked a 2007 election to eject the United Farm Workers from Gallo Winery, 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 who improperly requested signatures for the petition for the vote. Gallo appealed the 2003 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.
Wine brands
A bottle of André.A bottle of Barefoot White Zinfandel.An open bottle of Carlo Rossi jug wine with a drinking straw.A bottle of Gallo Family Ruby Cabernet.
In addition to the Gallo Family Vineyards brand, the company makes, markets, and distributes wine under more than 100 other labels.
André was one of the best-selling brands of sparkling wine in the United States in 2018. It is available in varietals including Brut, Extra Dry, Cold Duck, Blush, Spumante, Strawberry, and peach-flavored California Champagne, among others. André's California Champagne is bulk-fermented. Under a 2006 agreement between the United States and the European Union regarding wine labeling, André is permitted to continue using the term "Champagne" on its labels under a grandfather clause. One champagne expert said the wine is "like ginger ale – pale yellow in color, lemony and on the sweet side, with maybe an apple flavor as well and low bubbles".
Carlo Rossi is a brand of wine produced by the E. & J. Gallo Winery. Introduced in 1962 as Carlo Rossi Red Mountain wine, the "Red Mountain" part was retired and removed from most of the brand's labels in 1975. The brand was named after Charles Rossi, who appeared in television advertisements for the brand in the 1970s. Carlo Rossi is referenced in popular culture in E-40's single, "Carlos Rossi," and also in Lil B's song, "Swag Like Ohio".
Boone's Farm was formerly a brand of apple wine produced by the E. & J. Gallo Winery. Now, flavors are malt-based instead of wine-based due to changes in tax laws. The brand saw success within college campuses due to its low price. In some US states, such as Utah, some Boone's Farm products are labeled as malt beverages and not as flavored apple/citrus wine products, as some state liquor laws prohibit the sale of wine in grocery and convenience stores.
12"Amelia Franzia Gallo; Wine Maker's Wife, 83". Obituaries. The New York Times. December 25, 1993. Retrieved 2012-11-02. 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.
123Holland, John; Rowland, Marijke (April 4, 2019). "Gallo is buying 34 wine and spirit brands you've heard of — for $1.7 billion". modbee.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022. 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.
↑J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz Wine Grapes – A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours p. 322, Allen Lane 2012 ISBN978-1-846-14446-2
↑Whalen, Kristi W.(attorney of record) (August 5, 2004). "Matthew Fox". Trademark Electronic Search System. USPTO. Archived from the original on 2016-01-10. Retrieved 2012-11-02. 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 BOULEVARDMODESTO CALIFORNIA 95354
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