E & J Gallo Winery

E & J Gallo Winery
Location	Modesto, California, United States
Other labels	Don Miguel Gascon, Louis Martini, Ecco Domani, Mirassou Winery, New Amsterdam, J Vineyards, Barefoot, Apothic, Shellback rum among others
Founded	1933
Key people	Ernest Gallo (founder) Julio Gallo (founder) Gina Gallo (winemaker) Stephanie Gallo
Varietals	Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc, Syrah
Distribution	International
Website	gallo.com, gallofamily.co.uk

E & J Gallo Winery is a winery and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. It was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo, and is the largest exporter of California wines.

The two brothers started the winery in 1933, 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 established in California in the first few years after the repeal of Prohibition. Their starting capital was less than $6,000, with $5,000 of that borrowed by Ernest from his mother-in-law. The brothers 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.

By 1993, E. & J. Gallo was the country's largest winery, with a 25% share of the American wine market.

In 1986, 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, where the evidence submitted by Joseph's attorney suggested that it was actually started by their father. Joseph Gallo lost both suits and was forced to change the name of his business to Joseph Farms.

In the 1990s, Gallo Winery made an agreement with Gallo Pasta (a Spanish company) that the latter would not sell their 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 maker.

E & J Gallo Winery is the largest family-owned winery in the United States.

In February 2010, twelve French winemakers and traders who had supplied wine to Gallo for its Red Bicyclette brand were found guilty in a French court of fraud, as they had claimed an inferior wine sold to Gallo was Pinot noir.

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Wikipedia