Orin Swift Sold to Gallo

[JeromeHan]

Never tried the Mercury Head, which I still want to try, but I did try the Palermo recently and thought it was a sugar bomb. I don’t necessarily think going to Gallo is the death of Orin Swift.

[Cameron_Hughes]

@Jay T.

I’d never read up on the Gallos before. It’s interesting what people take away from the same set of facts. The modern E&J Gallo enterprise itself might make crappy wine, but my own takeaway is that the three brothers themselves were truly remarkable. Two of them built the largest family owned winery in the world from basically nothing after their father and uncle killed themselves when they were in their early 20s. The third brother was only 13 when his parents died, was raised by his brothers, and then did his own thing and built America’s largest dairy operation.

Notwithstanding all of the legitimate criticisms that could be leveled at the three brothers (including their own falling out and litigation over the use of the “Gallo” name) That’s an amazing story.

Gallo floundered in the 90’s. Julio died in the jeep accident and Ernest refused to give up control as he deteriorated. Once Ernest passed and Joe consolidated power he opened up the floodgates to marketing ideas Ernest would never consider (Carlo Rossi in a box and Amsterdam Gin and Vodka for example). Joe rebooted that organization into an incredible juggernaut - my hats off to him. They are on a buying spree trying to head up market as the sub-$10 wine category out of CA is declining.

[Merrill_Lindquist]

I, too, recall my first Prisoner was very attractive. After that, not so much.

I have very much liked Mercury Head each time I tasted through the years.

[brigcampbell]

@Cameron Hughes

@Jay T.

I’d never read up on the Gallos before. It’s interesting what people take away from the same set of facts. The modern E&J Gallo enterprise itself might make crappy wine, but my own takeaway is that the three brothers themselves were truly remarkable. Two of them built the largest family owned winery in the world from basically nothing after their father and uncle killed themselves when they were in their early 20s. The third brother was only 13 when his parents died, was raised by his brothers, and then did his own thing and built America’s largest dairy operation.

Notwithstanding all of the legitimate criticisms that could be leveled at the three brothers (including their own falling out and litigation over the use of the “Gallo” name) That’s an amazing story.

Gallo floundered in the 90’s. Julio died in the jeep accident and Ernest refused to give up control as he deteriorated. Once Ernest passed and Joe consolidated power he opened up the floodgates to marketing ideas Ernest would never consider (Carlo Rossi in a box and Amsterdam Gin and Vodka for example). Joe rebooted that organization into an incredible juggernaut - my hats off to him. They are on a buying spree trying to head up market as the sub-$10 wine category out of CA is declining.

Cameron are the sub $10 drinkers moving up to $20 range or are they moving away from wine entirely?

[Brian_Tuite]

http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2020279#p2020279
“I’m confident we haven’t seen the end of these transactions in the near future.”

[PeterJ]

Phinney is a very smart marketer regardless of what one might think of his wines. He developed each of his wines as a separate brand and did a great job of playing to the taste of his designated target consumer. When he sold The Prisoner and Saldo it was kind of funny that Prisoner’s fans (for the most part) really didn’t have a clue that he was no longer involved and most didn’t care.
He’d developed The Prisoner’s identity to the point where it held its own without him.

Personally I like some of his retained labels, but do understand the hate on them here. Once again his marketing skills have made him a lot (if undisclosed amount) of money and he keeps his Locations brand (I assume), so look for that to bring a third bounty down the road.

Pretty damned cool story I think.

[brigcampbell]

@PeterJ

Phinney is a very smart marketer regardless of what one might think of his wines. He developed each of his wines as a separate brand and did a great job of playing to the taste of his designated target consumer. When he sold The Prisoner and Saldo it was kind of funny that Prisoner’s fans (for the most part) really didn’t have a clue that he was no longer involved and most didn’t care.
He’d developed The Prisoner’s identity to the point where it held its own without him.

Personally I like some of his retained labels, but do understand the hate on them here. Once again his marketing skills have made him a lot (if undisclosed amount) of money and he keeps his Locations brand (I assume), so look for that to bring a third bounty down the road.

Pretty damned cool story I think.

Totally agree. Yes, he keeps location and all the property he owns… That’s a lot of acreage. Impressive.

[Gordon_Fitz]

Bridget;

I’m not Cameron, but asked my LWS manager that very question. His reply is neither of your options. He says they are now drinking cheap South American and Southern Italian wines. He says he sells a lot of Rihannon at $7.99 and a long laundry list of Chilean cabs and other S.A. malbecs and blends under $10. Stuff like Tilia Cabs and Merlot and, from the US, Concannon cabs are all under $10 (along with Woodbridge) and people buy by the cases. He claims that maybe only 20-25% of his earlier under $10/bottle buyers have moved up to under $15/bottle. The rest continue to buy his under $10 selections.

[Jonathan_Essner]

Big fan of Papillon when I can get it under retail.

[Nathan_Smyth]

@brigcampbell

Yes, he keeps location and all the property he owns… That’s a lot of acreage. Impressive.

So is it safe to assume that the labels will remain the same, but different juice will be in the bottles?

[PeterJ]

@Nathan Smyth

@brigcampbell

Yes, he keeps location and all the property he owns… That’s a lot of acreage. Impressive.

So is it safe to assume that the labels will remain the same, but different juice will be in the bottles?

My guess is that would depend on the specifics of his buyout contract. At least in the short term.