[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 41 (Friday, March 9, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S2977]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 18--HONORING THE LIFE OF ERNEST GALLO

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. Boxer) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                            S. Con. Res. 18

       Whereas Ernest Gallo was born March 18, 1909, in Jackson, 
     California, the son of Italian immigrants, graduated from 
     Modesto High School in 1927, earned a degree from Modesto 
     Junior College, and married Amelia Franzia, daughter of the 
     founders of Franzia Winery, in 1931;
       Whereas Ernest Gallo, with his brother Julio Gallo, founded 
     E & J. Gallo Winery at the end of the Prohibition Era in 
     1933, with only $5,900 in savings and a winemaking pamphlet 
     from the Modesto Public Library;
       Whereas the Gallo brothers took their small family-owned 
     winery and turned it into the world's second largest winery 
     by volume, selling an estimated 75,000,000 cases a year 
     worldwide under approximately 100 different labels;
       Whereas Ernest Gallo began his illustrious career at a 
     young age, working in his parents' vineyard while attending 
     Modesto High School and demonstrating his entrepreneurial 
     spirit early in life by traveling at the age of 17 to 
     complete his first business deal;
       Whereas Ernest Gallo, demonstrating great vision, 
     anticipated the growth of the wine industry and developed the 
     first-of-its kind vertically integrated company, with 
     vineyards stretching across California, an on-site bottling 
     plant, and an art department to design bottles and labels, 
     changing the face of California's wine industry;
       Whereas the Gallo Winery employs 4,600 people in the State 
     of California, providing critical highly-skilled employment 
     opportunities in the San Joaquin Valley and greatly 
     contributing to the economic strength of the State;
       Whereas Ernest Gallo and the Gallo Winery were bestowed 
     countless awards for achievement in winemaking, including--
       (1) in 1964, the American Society of Enologists Merit 
     Award, the wine industry's highest honor, for outstanding 
     leadership in the wine industry;
       (2) the Gold Vine Award from the Brotherhood of the Knights 
     of the Vine wine fraternity;
       (3) the 1983 Distinguished Service Award from The Wine 
     Spectator; and
       (4) the Winery of the Year Award in both 1996 and 1998 by 
     the San Francisco International Wine Competition; and
       Whereas Ernest Gallo was widely known for his generous 
     philanthropic work in the City of Modesto and throughout the 
     state of California, including an endowment for the Gallo 
     Center for the Arts in Modesto, the establishment of the 
     Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of 
     California at San Francisco for research into genetic, 
     biochemical, and neurobiological aspects of alcohol abuse, 
     and countless other healthcare and educational endeavors: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress honors the life of Ernest Gallo, a 
     pioneer in the field of winemaking, dedicated philanthropist, 
     and community leader.

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