Bronco Wine Company

CEO Fred Franzia – nephew of wine legend Ernest Gallo – started Bronco Wine in 1973 with his brother Joseph and his cousin, John Franzia, after the Franzia winery business was purchased by Coca-Cola. The Franzia brand was later purchased by the Wine Group, a privately held bulk wine producer based in San Francisco (the source of the "bag-in-box" wines that bear the Franzia name but which have no connection to either the Franzia family or to Bronco).

In 1995, Bronco Wine Company purchased the brand name Charles Shaw from a bankrupt company for US$27,000 and used it for a line of very inexpensive wines, introduced in 2002 and priced at $1.99 per bottle. The wines became nicknamed "Two-Buck Chuck" and were sold exclusively through Trader Joe's stores.

In August 2013, Bronco Wine Company entered into a marketing campaign for its Allure Moscato wine products in partnership with Hip Hop artist Warren G and Brand Elite, LLC.

The Bronco Wine Company maintains over 250 brands of wine, including:

Concerns and incidents

In 1993, Franzia and Bronco Wine Company were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to defraud by misrepresenting cheaper grapes as premium Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Bronco pleaded no contest and paid a $2.5 million fine. Franzia also pleaded guilty to his involvement, paid a $500,000 fine, stepped down as Bronco's president and member of the company's board of directors, and agreed to refrain from involvement with grape purchasing for five years in lieu of prison time.

Franzia has also been at odds with California's premium winemakers for several years over his inclusion of Napa and other related appellation terms on the labels of his wines. Franzia sued the state of California over the implementation of a 2000 law that tightened federal labeling laws. His lawsuit was unsuccessful initially and up through the appeals process as well; he eventually sought certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, but the Court declined to take the case.