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Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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News Wed Mar 07 2007

Ernest Gallo 1909 - 2007

EG-Portrait-2b.jpeg

The well known titan of US wine, Ernest Gallo, passed away yesterday at his home in Modesto, California.

While most folks think of the Gallo family as producing the Hearty Burgundy in big jugs, the Gallo company makes everything from Boone's Farm to Ecco Domani to the namesake Estate Cabernet Sauvignon that sells for well over $50. Chances are everyone in the US has sampled a Gallo wine at one point or another. As recently as 2003, they still owned over 25 % of the wine sales market in our country. With dozens of labels, including MacMurray Ranch, Frei Brothers, Red Bicycle, and Rancho Zabaco, Gallo is still a huge force in the wine industry.

But the folks in Chicago were the very first to taste Gallo grapes. In the late 20s, the Gallo family loaded up all of their harvest on railcars destined for Chicago for sale to home winemakers. Ernest himself traveled to Chicago frequently, starting at the age of 17, to sell his family's grapes and conduct business. Clearly he did pretty well.

The EJ Gallo website has a nice biography in his memory and Wine Spectator has some old interviews and and articles that detail his legacy.

Raise a glass to Ernest tonight. To paraphrase, he sold no wine before it was time.

 
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Feature Thu Dec 31 2015

The State of Food Writing

By Brandy Gonsoulin

In 2009, food blogging, social media and Yelp were gaining popularity, and America's revered gastronomic magazine Gourmet shuttered after 68 years in business. Former Cook's Illustrated editor-in-chief Chris Kimball followed with an editorial, stating that "The shuttering of Gourmet reminds...
Read this feature »

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Drive-Thru is the food and drink section of Gapers Block, covering the city's vibrant dining, drinking and cooking scene. More...
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