Episode Description
Ernest and Julio Gallo founded E. & J. Gallo Winery in Modesto, California in the fall of 1933, just after the repeal of Prohibition. Their starting capital was less than $6,000 — $5,000 of it borrowed from Ernest's mother-in-law, Teresa Franzia. Their winemaking education came from pre-Prohibition pamphlets retrieved from the basement of the Modesto Public Library. With a single tractor running back-to-back 12-hour shifts, they produced 177,000 gallons in their first year.
What the front label doesn't show: Ernest and Julio's parents died in 1933, the same year the winery was founded. Their father shot their mother, then turned the gun on himself. Ernest was 24. He never spoke about it publicly.
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