Prohibition marks the start of something great

The characters who blazed a trail to the future Unfulfilled promise proves case for the decanter Medal haul for Villa Maria Grapes replace the grains at historic Woodbourne Estate Dessert wine a double champion There's no excuse for not trying something new Increasingly creative labels vie for market share Tread carefully, drink wisely Oysters and bubbly a winning combination Chardonnay's festival comeback We recently asked the question, who's the biggest single winemaking business in the world? The short answer is Gallo, based in Modesto, California. The company's history is an interesting one that begins in the prohibition years and today, their story includes a New Zealand chapter.

Ernest and Julio Gallo built up their internationally renowned wine company on the back of their father's vineyards. Gallo Senior shipped grapes for home winemaking during the prohibition years and on the eve of repeal (1933), the brothers secured a licence to manufacture and store wine.

When prohibition ended, the brothers were ready to start the rapid expansion of their business.

There's an interesting story attached to these dates – it's widely believed that the Gallo brothers had only a couple of winemaking pamphlets that had been published prior to the prohibition years to guide them in their first foray into wine production.

This aside, their father and uncle had been associated with the wine business before prohibition and winemaking had gone on behind closed cellar doors where the Gallos grew their grapes throughout the prohibition years.

By 1950, Gallo had built up the largest wine production capacity in the United States. By 1967, it held first place in sales and continues to perform at this level today.

The Gallo story isn't all about being the biggest; it's also about striving to be the best.

While growing as a company, Gallo promoted the planting of superior wine varieties, the use of modern crop management techniques and the best available winemaking technologies. The company helped improve basic winemaking standards in the Californian industry.

By the 1970s, Gallo had a reputation for reliable, inexpensive wines, including wine coolers, flavoured wines and bulk-processed sparkling. The company name became associated with "pop" wine or plonk, something that was recognised in the United States by the use of screw cap seals. How times have changed!

After 1977, Gallo made an effort to up the ante and associate its name with premium wines, which, in the US at the time, were invariably sealed under cork. The product and the packaging changed, and the company continued to grow. Gallo's sales and marketing operations have been exceptional for decades and there was a time when all of the top wine salespeople in the US had Gallo in their CVs.

Ad Feedback Today, Gallo has tremendous international reach that extends to Marlborough, where it has a 25 per cent shareholding in Whitehaven Wines, a relationship that began with distribution rights for Whitehaven in the US and Canada.

From sneaky winemaking in the prohibition years all the way to Marlborough, it's a great story.

Montana North Island Pinot Gris 08

Aroma: Very lifted, plenty of pears, stonefruit and syrupy tinned fruit notes with a dollop of nougat – very ripe and peachy.

Taste: Some lovely zingy acids and spicy warmth team up with ripe pear, peach and nectarine flavours. There's good palate weight and excellent length to this wine, the flavour intensity is impressive and there's enough sweetness to provide a luscious finish.

Price: A good example at just $16.99.

Sacred Hill Halo Marlborough Pinot Gris 09

Aroma: Rich tropical and leesy on the nose, exotic notes of lychee, guava and pear predominate, helped along by a confected whiff of candy floss.

Taste: A pinot gris with plenty to offer the palate – taut and crisp with some green apple and pear flavour soon giving way to gentle stonefruit and some warming ginger spiciness. There's flint in the finish which adds to the attraction. This is an elegant pinot gris reminiscent of Alsatian examples – weighty without being overbearing. Very rewarding drinking.

Price: Good buying at $25.90.

Mt Beautiful Cheviot Hills Riesling 08

Mt Beautiful wines don't disappoint. Made by Sam Weaver, who grows grapes and makes wine under the Churton label in Marlborough, this riesling is set to impress in the years ahead.

Aroma: Kerosene apple and flint team up with some lemon/lime and floral notes, but it's the flint and kero that dominate.

Taste: Warming with nice flinty acids, plenty of lemon zest, some kerosene and a spicy finish. The low-alcohol sweetness in this wine provides acid balance and a lick of bitterness continues to offset the residual sugar.

A lovely wine providing weight and balance – it has all the toys needed for cellaring for a few years.

Price: Excellent value at $23.95.