Synopsis
Two brothers who created one of the world's largest and most productive wineries detail their turbulent early lives and their struggle from poverty and tragedy to wealth and success
Reviews
The first autobiography, narrated in alternating sections by the sons of Italian immigrants who founded the 62-year-old California Gallo Winery, is both an engrossing business success story and an account of strong fraternal bonding, strengthened by family tragedy. Ably assisted by Henderson (The Sea Will Tell), 85-year-old Ernest (who heads the firm) and younger brother Julio (who died in 1993) recall their early struggles and, following the repeal of Prohibition, the fierce competition they faced-including that of large distillers. The Gallos conducted a publicity campaign to make people "wine conscious" that featured their blended and fortified wines used to make sherry, brandy, Thunderbird, sparkling wine and other drinks. They attribute their position as top-selling vintners to their long-term view, innovative research and sales and marketing savvy-so successful that even Coca-Cola "tried to take us on." Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Though the Gallos' wines might repulse you and their reputation give you the willies, their autobiography is worth a look, if only to get another side of the picture. Without too much pain, the brothers Gallo (with Henderson, And The Sea Will Tell, not reviewed) get past their aw-shucks-work- hard-and-get-anywhere drapery to their nuts-and-bolts shtick: control and marketing (with a nod to hard work, like 120-hour weeks and an annual six months on the road). Marketing: Gallo wine is where it is today--the number-one seller in America--because the brothers got their goods into the hands of savvy distributors, folks who got the wine at eye-level in supermarkets across the land and fused Bartles & James wine coolers into the national retina via television. Control: Need a decent glass supplier? Build a glassworks. Having competition trouble? Slash your prices and crush the buggers. Certain problems are tactfully ignored, like those surrounding Thunderbird, a Gallo-produced down-and-outer's wine rumored to have been marketed by strewing the bottles along skid rows to give the fortified concoction a high profile. Other problems are glossed over: The Gallos' controversial (some might say fascistic) treatment of labor is couched in terms of conflicts between unions (the Teamsters vs. the United Farm Workers). But there is a wealth of background material: family travails, like the murder/suicide of the brothers' parents; Depression days when they sold bulk lots of grapes at railroad sidings; the formation of trade organizations; Julio's obituary for his son Phillip, another suicide, which is enough to break your heart; children spurning the family business; and a vision of Gallo in the 21st century. Whether or not you buy into this version of the Gallo story, it's a family saga with all the makings of a television miniseries: adversity, intrigue, tragedy, manipulation, greed, and a slick presentation. (60 b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
This is the story of the largest winery in the world by the two men who built it. The well-written text alternates between Ernest, who handled the marketing, and Julio, who managed the vineyards. One gradually learns a great deal about the wine business, as did the Gallo brothers, who claim to have known little at the beginning; a government pamphlet in the Modesto Public Library showed them the rudiments of winemaking. Their rags-to-riches story takes us from the Depression to the present day, when wine consumption has increased. No matter what new wine product the Gallos produced, they planned carefully and thoroughly, seldom failing. They refused all mergers and anything that would cause them to lose control of their operations. This is indeed their story, so the reader may not be learning all their foibles and failures. Recommended for public and academic libraries. [For another perspective on the Gallos, see Ellen Hawkes's Blood and Wine, LJ 3/15/93.-Ed.]-George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
--George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Given the publication last year of an unflattering and unauthorized portrait of the Brothers Gallo entitled Blood and Wine, by Ellen Hawkes, and a string of controversies surrounding Ernest's and Julio's treatment of their younger brother, Joseph, this book might better be subtitled "Our Side of the Story." At issue is whether their original winery was part of the business established by their father, making Joseph Jr. a partner, or whether Ernest and Julio built their empire from scratch, learning--as they tell it--to make wine after reading a library book! The two older brothers have also been to court to prevent Joseph from using the Gallo name on the cheese he now sells. Additionally, the Gallos attempt to clarify stories behind their introduction of low-priced, fortified Thunderbird wine, their treatment of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, and their sometimes stormy relations with marketers, distributors, and advertising agencies. Told simply and disarmingly, with the brothers taking turns in commenting on each topic, the Gallos' story proves an interesting one. David Rouse
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