by Millie Howie
As E. & J. Gallo Winery celebrates the 75th year since its founding, some changes are being made. The major one is that a full line of table wines, priced from $6 to $85 a bottle has recently made its appearance under the Gallo Family Vineyards label. The new label replaces Gallo of Sonoma, Gallo Sonoma Reserve and Twin Valley wines, the limited production vineyard-designate wines and the top-of-the-line Estate Wines.
These wines will only be available for tasting at Gallo’s tasting room situated on the historic Healdsburg Plaza at 320 Center Street where it crosses Plaza Street. Wine is the centerpiece of the pleasant and inviting room where guests rendezvous after a day of shopping and exploring the various charms of historic Healdsburg. Shopping from a unique array of items can continue as a broad selection of wines is tasted. Gifts cover a wide range from bottles of Gallo Estate Olive Oil, to exclusive lines of pottery, vases, logo-ware and wine accessories. Open hours at the Gallo Tasting Room are 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. daily. The tasting menu features three flights of wine, served in Gallo Family Vineyards Riedel glasses.
One of the most unusual and rewarding offerings at the Gallo Tasting Room is the daily “Seasons in the Vineyard” tour through the Gallo family’s Barrelli Creek Vineyard in Alexander Valley where visitors can see the vineyards and the olive grove from which the wines and oil draw their fruit.
The tour, limited to six guests, departs from the tasting room by private van and those with reservations are asked to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the 11 a.m. departure. Participants must be at least 21 years of age to take the tour and reservations are required. The cost is $45 per person and reservations may be made by calling (707) 433-2458, One of the rewards of the tour is that each person goes home with a copy of Grandma Gallo’s mouth-watering Rosemary Chicken recipe, along with sprigs of rosemary to use in its preparation.
Today the Gallo properties cover over four appellations in Sonoma County totaling 6000 acres – only half of which will ever be planted, since the Gallo philosophy is to develop only half of their land, leaving the balance in its natural state.
“This dedication to preservation of habitat goes back to my grandfather,” says Matt Gallo, Julio’s grandson and director of the northern California operation. “He left his legacy in many ways, not only in winemaking but in balancing vineyards and natural surroundings. All of the Gallo vineyards are farmed by sustainable agriculture… Irrigation water comes from the ranch lakes where run-off from the forested hillsides is collected.”
If, because of its position as the largest winery in the United States it may be difficult to think of it as a family-owned and operated winery the truth lies in the fact that Ernest Gallo’s son. Joe Gallo, is the CEO and Julio’s son Bob Gallo and his brother-in-law share the post of president. Matt’s sister, Gina, is winemaker. Add to this that 16 of the 20 grandchildren of the founders also work at the winery so anyone can note that the family influence is strong.
The first grapes at the Frei Bros. Ranch were planted in 1885 and in the 1930s when the late Julio Gallo started making regular grape buying trips to Sonoma County, Frei Bros. was one of his most important stops. After World War II, the Gallo family agreed to buy the entire production of the Frei family’s two ranches in Dry Creek (grapes) and the Russian River Valley (apples). When the Freis retired in 1976 Ernest and Julio became sole proprietors and began a vineyard expansion and development program. They met with the winemakers and engineers to plan the necessary conversions and improvements they would have to make to bring into being a winemaking facility to create wines of superior quality.
From its earliest days the Gallo family’s philosophy to produce the best wines possible, have led to on-going research in the vineyards and winery with hundreds of experiments under way at any given time. Some of the hundreds of experiments deal with the influences of different rootstocks, clones, spacing, trellising and pruning. Others are an investigation of grape varieties the winery has not produced before. And the very best of these explorations present Gina with an opportunity to make small lots (200 to 400 cases) of these lesser-known grape varieties. The very best often show up in the tasting room or in shipments to club members
There’s a lot more information about the family, the history and the wines on the winery website: www.gallosonoma.com, but to taste you’ll want to travel to the tasting room in Healdsburg and lift a glass of some of the of exciting new wines from the Gallo Family Vineyards.