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 . 1 contents 1 history 2 business 2.1 trademark disputes 2.2 production 2.3 distribution 2.4 labor relations 2.5 ecological impact 2.6 marketing 3 wine brands 3.1 barefoot wine 3.2 additional brands 4 vineyard trials 5 awards 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit the two brothers started the winery in 1933 2 following the repeal of prohibition after years of growing and selling grapes . 1 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 . 3 by 1993 e. & j. gallo was the country s largest winery with a 25 % share of the american wine market . 2 business edit trademark disputes edit 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 . 4 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 . 5 gallo filed a cease and desist order 6 7 in april 2009 against the spanish table a seattle based specialty food retailer for carrying the pasta despite the previous agreement with the maker . 5 production edit gallo family ruby cabernet e & j gallo winery is the largest family owned winery in the united states . 8 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 . 9 distribution edit in addition to the gallo family vineyards brand the company makes markets and distributes wine under more than 60 other labels . 10 see below for a list of other labels brands . the company also makes the low end fortified wines thunderbird and night train express . on september 14 2007 martha stewart living omnimedia announced a partnership with e & j gallo winery to produce a brand of wine labelled martha stewart vintage . the initial release was to be 15 000 cases consisting of 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 . 11 labor relations edit in october 2009 the california agricultural labor relations board calrb revoked a 2007 election to eject the united farm workers from gallo winery 12 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 improperly requesting signatures for the petition for the vote . 13 gallo appealed that decision . ecological impact edit gallo helped develop and implement the code of sustainable wine growing practices 14 in collaboration 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 . 15 gallo received iso 14001 certification from the international organization for standardization . 8 the certification was created to globally assist and guide companies to reduce their environmental impact . 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 73 000 fine 16 for allegedly channeling water from the russian river into an unlicensed reservoir ; 16 however there are provisions for licensing the reservoir under proper monitoring of flow and capacity . 17 marketing edit ernest and julio were among the pioneers of wine advertising on television and launched many wine advertising campaigns . one of these helped to popularize hymne composed and performed by vangelis papathanassiou by featuring it as background music in some of its television commercials . they were the first to introduce brand management and modern merchandising to the wine industry and 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 . 3 they were also first to establish a truly significant foreign sales and marketing force to export california wines overseas . 1 wine brands edit a bottle of andr andr is the best selling brand of sparkling wine in the united states . 18 it often sells for about 4 to 5 per bottle depending on the store . it is available in varietals including brut extra dry cold duck blush spumante strawberry and peach flavored california champagne among others . andr s california champagne is bulk fermented . citation needed while the united states agreed in 2006 to not approve any new wine labels for us produced products that include the term champagne andr is legally allowed to use the term as a grandfathered label . andr s brut california champagne has been described as the sparkling wine that many people have noted was their first experience with this variety of wine . one champagne expert said it is like ginger ale pale yellow in color lemony and on the sweet side with maybe an apple flavor as well and low bubbles . 19 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 wines were at one point the second best selling brand in the united states . 20 carlo rossi is reflected in popular culture in e 40 s single carlos rossi . 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 is popular on college campuses due to its low price . 21 boone s farm beverages served in 750 ml bottles are often located in the cold box area of convenience stores across the united states . in some u.s. states such as utah some boone s farm products are labeled as malt beverages and not as flavored apple citrus wine products as state liquor laws prohibit the sale of wine in grocery and convenience stores . 21 barefoot wine edit barefoot wine is a brand of wine produced by barefoot cellars which is based in modesto california . the winery was bought by e & j gallo winery in 2005 . 22 barefoot wine was introduced in 1986 by michael houlihan & bonnie harvey . 23 barefoot is a brand whose slogan is get barefoot and have a great time barefoot s winemaker jennifer wall produces 17 unique varietals and blends zinfandel shiraz merlot pinot noir cabernet sauvignon white zinfandel moscato pinot grigio sauvignon blanc chardonnay riesling sweet red brut cuvee chardonnay sparkling wine extra dry sparkling wine pinot grigio sparkling wine moscato spumante and pink cuvee sparkling wine . in 2007 barefoot launched 187 milliliter bottles . barefoot wines are distributed throughout the united states and exported to canada europe and asia . in may 2010 barefoot wine announced new uk national grocery listings and new strategic partnerships . 24 barefoot has received several awards and accolades including fastest growing wine amongst the top 5 popular brands 25 market watch magazine wine brand of the year 2007 26 barefoot wine sponsors the association of volleyball professionals . since 2007 barefoot wine has partnered with the surfrider foundation to form the barefoot wine beach rescue project . 27 additional brands edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . november 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message alamos distributor 28 anapamu apothic ballatore barefoot bartles & jaymes bella sera black swan bridlewood boone s farm camarena tequilas carnivor cask & cream chocolatrouge clarendon hills columbia winery covey run dancing bull davinci delicia don miguel gascon e. & j. vs brandy e. & j. vsop brandy e. & j. xo brandy ecco domani frei brothers frut zia gallo family vineyards estate gallo family vineyards single vineyard gallo family vineyards sonoma ghost pines indigo hills j vineyards and winery la marca laguna las rocas liberty creek livingston cellars louis m. martini macmurray ranch mart n c dax maso canali matthew fox vineyards since 2004 29 mattie s perch mcwilliam s mirassou vineyards new amsterdam gin new amsterdam vodka orin swift winery peter vella p lka dot rancho zabaco red bicyclette redwood creek red rock winery sebeka shellback rum thunderbird tisdale vineyards turning leaf twin valley vella wines viniq whitehaven william hill estate wild vines winking owl for aldi in the us wycliff sparkling 10 30 vineyard trials edit viticulturists at gallo use their vineyard resources to trial new grape variety plantings in california wine regions in an effort to see which varieties grow best in various climates and soil types . one of the varieties that gallo has been trialling in the san joaquin valley is the french wine grape ederena . 31 awards edit e & j gallo winery was named the bon appetit winery of the year in the 1996 1998 and 2001 san francisco international wine competitions . 32 intangible business a brand valuation firm 33 rated gallo as the world s most powerful wine brand in 2006 34 2007 35 2008 36 and 2009 . 37 see also edit wine portal globalization of wine napa county wine references edit a b c robinson jancis ed . 2006 . the oxford companion to wine 3rd ed . . oxford university press . p. 296 . isbn 0 19 860990 6 . a b amelia franzia gallo ; wine maker s wife 83 . obituary . 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