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Is It Time For Retailers to Start Promoting More Gallo Wines?

Is It Time For Retailers to Start Promoting More Gallo Wines?

Gallo thinks so.

Tom Wark's avatar
Tom Wark
Jul 21, 2025
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Is It Time For Retailers to Start Promoting More Gallo Wines?
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Last month, Gallo’s Chief Commercial Officer, Britt West, had a fascinating if not provocative discussion with Drinks Business’ Patrick Schmitt in which the global drinks giant’s COO suggested that the key to addressing the current downturn in wine sales is the wine trade “producing and marketing affordable wines for Generation Z, supported by better-educated staff in retail spaces and restaurants.” Schmitt agreed, writing, “the wine trade needs to make more noise about its entry-level offerings.”

The kind of wines that West is talking about include: Barefoot, Canyon Road, Copper Ridge, Davinci, Ecco Domani, Edna Valley, Mark West, Nobilo, Rex Goliath, and Toasted Head.

These all happen to be Gallo-produced and marketed products. There are other similarly priced Gallo products in their portfolio. Millions of cases worth of them.

In West’s words, there is a very good reason for the wine trade to begin producing and talking up these kinds of wines:

“Over the past 30 years the trade has followed a trend and strategy of premiumisation, and it has been largely successful,” he recorded, adding, “But what we have not been concerned about as an industry was the coming demographic shifts…And because we followed a premiumisation strategy, no-one was heavily focused on recruitment, no-one was trying to bring younger consumers into wines in ways that felt inviting to them – hence we find ourselves in position we are in now. [Outlets] should also offer something that is less expensive to welcome people into wine.”

West is not someone to be ignored. His experience and past success and resources make him an authority when it comes to the wine marketplace. He clearly falls into the “it’s the economy, stupid—along with demographics, dummy” camp when it comes to explaining the current downturn in wine sales.

I don’t disagree with him, though I think he may have underplayed the importance of

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