Ernest Gallo

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Ernest Gallo (born March 18, 1909 in Jackson , California , † March 6, 2007 in Modesto , California) was one of the pioneers of the American wine industry in California. Together with his brother Julio, he was the founder of the E. & J. Gallo Winery , which today (2019) is the world's largest winery with 7.2 million hectoliters of wine production.

life and work

Gallo was the son of Italian immigrants from Piedmont , Giuseppe Gallo, called Joseph, and Assunta Bianco Gallo, who called herself Susie. The father and younger brother Michael bought wine from small wineries which they sold in bars in Oakland and San Francisco . From 1906 they called their business the Gallo Wine Company . An inheritance in 1916 from their maternal grandfather bequeathed them 9,000 gallons of red wine. In the 1920s, the parents bought a farm near Modesto and started growing grapes, as did their neighbors. Private viticulture was allowed during Prohibition ; The grapes were transported by rail to the eastern United States. The destination stations on the east coast from Boston to North and South Carolina, from Pittsburg to Cleveland and Buffalo were ruled by gangsters at that time, who demanded a discount on every product. At the age of 17, Ernest Gallo accompanied the transports to secure the sale.

Early independence

Nevertheless, the farmer Giuseppe Gallo got into debt; on June 21, 1933, he shot his wife and then himself. After the tragic death of his parents, Ernest Gallo and his brother Julio took over the indebted farm. In the time of Prohibition it was only possible to sell grapes, and the brothers had little idea about winemaking. After the lifting of the alcohol ban in the USA in 1933, the situation appeared more favorable again, and the brothers founded the E. & J. Gallo Winery with a start-up capital of 6,000 dollars; Ernest had borrowed $ 5,000 from his mother-in-law. At that time, 800 wineries were founded in California within a short period of time, some of which had significantly more capital and experience in winemaking than the E. & J. Gallo Winery. The two brothers relied on instructions for use found in the lending library.

Mass production

The Gallos achieved their commercial breakthrough in 1957 with a wine blend called “Thunderbird”, a mixture of white port wine and lemon juice with an alcohol content of 21%, at a retail price of 60 cents for a quarter liter. Poor African American buyers in particular took advantage of this. In 1957 alone, 32 million gallons were sold. Thanks to aggressive marketing in the mass media and a sales force that appeared penetrating and often at the wholesalers, the Gallos were able to eliminate more and more competitors. The greater the turnover, the more high-quality wineries the Gallos bought up. For decades, the Gallo brand was the epitome of cheap wines, and it wasn't until the 1970s that the Gallos improved the range. It was around this time that the Gallos began to sponsor prominent politicians such as Senators Robert Dole of Kansas, a Republican, and Alan Cranston of California, a Democrat. In 1978 and 1986, both politicians helped pass the tax rebates known as the Gallo wine amendment because it saved the Gallos from multimillion-dollar taxation on their property.

The E. & J. Gallo Winery is now the world's largest winery and, with 7.2 million hectoliters of wine, the largest wine producer in the world (for comparison: the wine-growing country of Germany produces a total of 8.4 million hectoliters annually). That corresponds to the number of 960 million bottles. They are sold in more than 90 countries. Gallo stands primarily for inexpensive bulk wines for the supermarket and discounter. They are neat, single-variety, but simple examples with no real character. In 2007 the group had more than 4,600 employees and sold its products in 90 countries. Ernest Gallo was last listed at number 297 on Forbes' 400 richest people list.

In 1986, Ernest and Julio sued their younger half-brother Joseph for trying to use the protected surname Gallo for his cheese company . The two older brothers won in court and their relationship with Joseph was shattered until his death on February 17, 2007.

family

After their parents' death in 1933, Ernest and his brother Julio (1910–1993), together with their wives Amelia (1910–1993) and Aileen (1913–1999), raised their half-brother Joseph (1919–2007), who was only 13 years old. Ernest was married to his wife Amelia Franzia Gallo for 62 years. The two had two sons, David († 1997) and Joseph. Ernest Gallo died on March 6, 2007 in his homeland in Modesto, California, twelve days before his 98th birthday.

literature

  • Ellen Hawkes: Blood and Wine. Unauthorized Story of the Gallo Wine Empire. Simon & Schuster, New York 1993, 464 pages, ISBN 0671649868

Web links

proof

  1. ^ A b Ernest Gallo, 97, Founder of Winery, Dies , New York Times , March 7, 2007
  2. ↑ Gallo's life - billionaire thanks to Fusel , Die Welt , March 7, 2007
  3. ↑ a b Ernest Gallo. Obsessive salesman at the helm of the world's biggest wine producer , The Guardian , March 8, 2007
  4. ↑ wine pioneer Ernest Gallo died , German wave , March 7, 2007
  5. ^ Joseph E. Gallo, 87, Brother Who Left Wine for Cheese, Dies , New York Times , Feb. 23, 2007
personal data
SURNAME Gallo, Ernest
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH March 18, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Jackson (California) , California
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 2007
Place of death Modesto , California