[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN RECOGNITION OF E. & J. GALLO WINERY'S 75TH ANNIVERSARY

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                         HON. DENNIS A. CARDOZA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 9, 2008

  Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I along with Congressman Costa rise today 
to commemorate the 75th anniversary of E. & J. Gallo Winery, a historic 
company that embodies California's agricultural prestige. Over the last 
75 years, E. & J. Gallo Winery has transformed the winemaking industry 
in the United States and has made significant contributions to the 
economic strength and vitality of California.
  Following the Prohibition era in 1933, two brothers, Ernest and Julio 
Gallo, decided to start their own winery. After discovering an old 
University of California pamphlet on winemaking in the basement of the 
Modesto Library, they began their business with only $5,900 on hand, a 
keen business sense, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Over time, they 
grew their small, family-owned business into one of the largest 
wineries in the world.
  The Gallo brothers recognized the fertile soil of the San Joaquin 
Valley as an ideal location for starting a winery. Competing against 
hundreds of startup wineries across California following Prohibition, 
they quickly rose to the top by making wine affordable to everyday 
people instead of marketing solely to the upper echelons of society. 
Their business model caught on and E. & J. Gallo Winery quickly became 
one of the most respected in the business.
  Decades later, E. & J. Gallo Winery has become one of the most 
influential wineries worldwide, with over 60 unique wines from a wide 
variety of locales. They have made a commitment to environmentally 
sustainable farming and have become a model for the rest of the 
industry. The Gallo Winery employs 4,600 people in the state of 
California, providing critical highly skilled employment opportunities 
in the San Joaquin Valley.
  E. & J. Gallo Winery has been honored with countless awards for 
achievement in winemaking, including the American Society of Enologists 
Merit Award--the wine industry's highest honor--in 1964 for outstanding 
leadership in the wine industry, the Gold Vine Award from the 
Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine wine fraternity, the 1983 
Distinguished Service Award from The Wine Spectator, and the Winery of 
the Year Award in both 1996 and 1998 by the San Francisco International 
Wine Competition.
  Few companies rival the generous spirit of E. & J. Gallo Winery. 
Throughout the state of California, they invested in local communities, 
including an endowment for the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, 
and 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.
  Madam Speaker, it is our great honor and privilege to recognize E. & 
J. Gallo Winery on the advent of their 75th anniversary. Their 
contributions to the wine industry, to agriculture, and to the San 
Joaquin Valley are an inspiration to us all and we continue to wish 
them great success for many years to come.

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