E & J Gallo Winery

During Prohibition in the United States, Ernest and Julio Gallo grew grapes, selling them to Eastern states, where home winemaking was legal.

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 fortified white 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.

In addition to the Gallo Family Vineyards brand, the company makes, markets, and distributes wine under more than 100 other labels.

The company also makes the low-end fortified wines Thunderbird and Night Train Express.

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".

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

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.