Who Owns E. & J. Gallo Winery?

Ernest and Julio Gallo founded their winery in Modesto, California in 1933, the year Prohibition ended, using a $5,900 loan and a family grape-growing background. Ernest handled sales and marketing while Julio ran the vineyards and winemaking, a division of labor that defined the company for six decades.

Early growth came through affordable table wines and fortified products including Thunderbird and Ripple, which made Gallo the nation's largest winery by volume by the 1960s. The brothers' aggressive national distribution and vertically integrated model, from vineyards to bottling, crushed most competitors in the post-war era.

The premium pivot began in the 1970s and accelerated through the 1980s and 1990s. Gallo launched varietal wines under its own name, acquired the Louis M. Martini and Frei Ranch vineyards, and steadily moved upmarket into Sonoma and Napa estate wines. By the 2000s the portfolio spanned every price tier, from Barefoot, created as a house label and later acquired, to luxury Napa brands including Orin Swift and Joseph Phelps.

Acquisitions continued reshaping the company through the 2010s and 2020s. Gallo bought more than 30 Constellation Brands wine labels in 2021 for about $810 million, acquired Napa's Joseph Phelps Vineyards in 2022, and bought the remaining stake in spirits distributor Southern Glazer's alliance brands portfolio interests through various spirits deals. Spirits expansion added High Noon producer investments and ownership of brands including New Amsterdam Vodka, E&J Brandy, and Diplomatico Rum distribution.