In this episode, we delve into the fascinating story of Ernest and Julio Gallo, two brothers from Modesto, California, who turned a borrowed $5,000 into a $5 billion wine empire. Starting in 1933, just after Prohibition ended, the Gallo brothers faced immense challenges but managed to dominate the American wine market with brands like Thunderbird and Barefoot. Their unique partnership, with one brother making wine and the other mastering distribution, laid the foundation for an industry revolution.
We also explore the personal struggles they faced, including family tragedies and labor disputes, that shaped their relentless drive. Despite controversies, Ernest Gallo became a resilient figure in the wine world, proving that behind every label lies a deeper story. Join us as we uncover the back label of their remarkable journey and the legacy they left in the wine industry.
00:00
Every bottle has a front label.
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That's the story they want you to know.
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The back label is the story they didn't.
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This is the back label.
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A story that gives you the full pour.
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Prohibition had just been repealed.
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The country was broke, beaten down, and thirsty.
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Two brothers from Modesto, California,
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Ernest and Julio Gallo.
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They had less than $6,000 between them.
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$5,000 of it borrowed from Ernest's mother-in-law.
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They had a pamphlet from the public library on how to make wine.
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It took a single tractor running back-to-back 12-hour shifts
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and absolutely no idea what they were doing.
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In their first year, they produced 177,000 gallons.
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What they built would become the largest family-owned winery in the United States
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with reported annual revenue of $5.3 billion.
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Ernest Gallo was not a romantic.
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He didn't talk about terroir or the poetry of the vine.
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He talked about shelf space.
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He talked about sales routes.
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He talked about getting his bottle in front of every American
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who had ever wanted a drink and couldn't afford to be picky about it.
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Julio made the wine.
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That was the deal, and they never broke it.
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He didn't just sell wine.
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He invented the American Wine Industry's distribution machine.
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He built his own glass manufacturing plant
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where he couldn't get enough bottles fast enough.
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He negotiated directly with retailers when no one else did.
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He created brands the way other people build cities,
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block by block, street by street,
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until you couldn't imagine the landscape without them.
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At one point, Gallo held a full 25% of the American wine market,
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one out of every four bottles had his fingerprints on it.
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But here's the part they leave off the front label.
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Ernest and Julio's parents died in 1933,
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the same year the brothers started the winery.
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Their father shot their mother, then turned the gun on himself.
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He never spoke about it publicly, not once.
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He buried it, put his head down, and went to work.
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Some people drink to forget.
02:50
Ernest Gallo made the wine.
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In the 1970s, Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers came for him.
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After Gallo dropped their contract and signed with the Teamsters,
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the UFW called a strike and launched a nationwide boycott.
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10,000 workers and supporters marched 100 miles to the Gallo winery in Modesto.
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Students at Harvard picketed stores.
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The boycott ran for five years before Chavez finally called it off in 1978.
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Ernest didn't flinch.
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There was a third brother, Joe.
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Joe believed he was part of the family business.
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The lawsuit was brutal.
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Joe lost and was told he could not use the Gallo name to sell cheese.
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His own name to sell cheese.
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Then, in May of 1993, Julio died in a car accident.
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He worked until near the end.
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Today, the company operates under more than 100 wine labels.
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When the fine wine world finally took Gallo seriously,
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when they released a single vineyard wine that critics praised,
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it felt less like an enrival and more like a man saying,
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I told you so from across a very long table.
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He wasn't the most loved figure in wine.
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He was something more durable than loved.
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He was unstoppable.
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Every bottle has a front label.
04:26
That's the story they want you to know.
04:28
The back label is the story they didn't.
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You've just heard the full pour.
04:36
You've just heard the full pour.
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