Gallo Family Vineyards, started in the 1930s by two Italian-Americans (Ernest and Julio) and has grown into one of the world oenological superpowers, producing more wine than many entire countries. Robert Mondavi, also long a family company went public in1993, and then bought by Constellation Brands for US$1.3 billion in 2001. Both Families have had their share of inter family acrimony.

As the old saying goes, you can?t choose your family - no offence to my family, it?s just the way it is. You can, however, choose your business partner(s), so when family members work together, I often wonder how their relationship is affected. 

It?s nice to think of wine as a commodity made with love and care, and it?s easier to imagine a family-run winery doing so than a winery created in a boardroom by businesspeople trying to make a quick buck. 

But businesspeople know business, and they can generally run a winery with fewer headaches than family-run operations.

True, some of the biggest success stories in the industry come from family-owned and operated wineries. Gallo Family Vineyards, for example, was started in the 1930s by two Italian-American boys (Ernest and Julio) and has grown into one of the world oenological superpowers, producing more wine than many entire countries.

And yes, Gallo Family Vineyards is still a family enterprise, and is the largest family-owned winery in the world.

Julio?s granddaughter Gina is one of the company?s principal winemakers, with generations before and after doing their part at the winery as well.

But it ain?t all sunshine and lollipops. In the 1970s, Ernest and Julio Gallo successfully sued brother Joseph for producing cheese under the name Joseph Gallo Farms. To be fair, he?s not the only one the company has sued, always in the effort of being the sole Gallo brand in the United States.

Similarly, the family of Robert Mondavi "another behemoth in the world of American wine"  has seen more than its fair share of internal strife. After numerous disagreements, Robert and his brother Peter nearly came to blows in 1965, and Robert was fired from the Mondavi-owned Charles Krug winery. Just over a decade later, Robert was finally awarded compensation after filing suit against his brother?s company, but the rift in the family would never fully heal.

Granted, Mondavi?s firing lead to him starting his own winery, an action few could see as a bad thing given Robert?s reputation for producing quality wines. It was a shift in focus toward cheaper brands " Woodbridge and the like " that displeased Mondavi, devalued the impact of his name as a brand, and led to strife between the patriarch and his children (sons Timothy and Michael, winemaker and former chair/board member, respectively).

While the company had been public since 1993, Constellation Brands bought Robert Mondavi Corp. for US$1.3 billion in 2001, moving the California winemaking icon out of his eponymous winery for good.

Maybe the moral of these stories is that family-owned wineries work better on a smaller scale. Surround yourself with smart people, make enough money to get by, stay grounded and make great wine. Let the suits fight it out in the courts and the boardrooms. Family first.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/
columnists/Grapes-of-wrath-101298954.html
 

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (With Archives) on:
[Formerly Italy at St Louis]