After all these years, Gallo is still king of the hill

Gallo, a name that has become synonymous with wine the world over. With the end of Prohibition on Dec. 5 1933, the Gallo Brothers, Ernest and Julio. went to a library and took out a pamphlet on making wine and from that simple beginning, a dynasty was born.

During the 1940s and 50s, the wine of choice for the average American was a Gallo wine. Among their most popular varieties were wines with very generic names such as Hearty Burgundy for a red wine and Chablis for a white. They also started to experimented with labeling some of their wines with the name of the grape variety. No matter what the name, Gallo was the "king of the hill" of American wines.

After World War II, wine became more popular in the United States mainly because of our soldiers were exposed to wine during their trek across Europe. The problem was that they were exposed to the better wines of Europe and expected the same quality when they returned home. It became necessary for all of the American winemakers to change both their style of winemaking as well as how they grew their grapes.

The '60s and '70s saw a burgeoning of small wineries in California that were producing a higher quality wine than ever before. While the less expensive wines were still popular in the marketplace, consumers began to look for better and better quality. Most wineries rose to the challenge; Gallo included. As a side note, Gallo's years of experience in marketing wine has led to a distribution business where they helped smaller wineries get their wines out to the public. Today Gallo still makes affordable wines as well as premium wines, some of which we were privileged to have recently sample.

The Gallo premium wines are called their Signature series and they are the epitome of fine quality California wines that still sell for prices that are not ridiculously high for the quality they deliver. Yes, they are not among the cheapest in the world but they rival wines selling for twice their price.

Gallo Signature Series 2011 Russian River Chardonnay ($30). The Russian River Valley is an area encompassing 150 square miles of the finest Burgundian style grapes in California. One of these varieties is Chardonnay. Gallo draws its fruit from this area for this wine and then tends to it very carefully to produce a product fit to bear their name. This Chardonnay exhibits the aromas of light toast, white flower blossoms, apples and apricots, interwoven with obvious amounts of vanilla. The aromas carry over on the palate and are joined by apple, lemon zest and ginger. The wine is refreshing, light and graceful on the palate, with creamy notes on entry and a crisp, well balanced mid-palate, finishing with excellent length, spiciness, balanced oak flavors and a hint of vanilla. As far as Chardonnay wines go, this one approaches near perfection and is worth every penny of its price.

Gallo Signature Series 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($40). This version of the world's most popular red wine is made from almost 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, with just a drop of Petite Verdot added to balance the wine. The aroma is a lively plum, cassis, nutmeg, black licorice and hints of rosemary. There are additional layers of raspberry, tealeaf, rose petals and vanilla. Concentrated flavors of black cherry, plum, cassis, baked cherry pie, cocoa, toast, and allspice intermingle with hints of white pepper and tobacco. The finish is long and elegant and to say the least, a wine to remember.

Gallo Signature Series 2011 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir ($35). It is the flavor and aroma of cherries that permeates this wine as well as generous amounts of oak and vanilla in the background to add further to the complexity, all of which is wrapped in an unforgettable velvet like softness. This is a very well made and exceptional wine will prove the quality of a Gallo wine.