Unpretentious Millennials Are Changing the Way We Drink Wine, Barefoot’s CMO Says

When it comes to successful family businesses, it's hard to find a more American example than E&J Gallo. Now in its 81st year, the winery is the largest on earth (16,000 acres in California) whose 60 brands have a lock on nearly a quarter of the U.S. wine market—and it's still being run by the family. But you won't find Stephanie Gallo with her feet up at her desk. As one of the third generation of Gallos in the business (she's vp of marketing, the equivalent of the CMO), she instead thinks about all the Americans who aren't drinking wine—like the millennials who prefer to order cold beers and fizzy cocktails instead of a glass of Barefoot Riesling. Getting Gallo's finer offerings into the consciousness of young drinkers is no easy thing, but it's one of the main tasks to which Gallo (who is the granddaughter of winery co-founder Ernest Gallo) has committed herself. We gave her a buzz (during happy hour, no less) to see how she plans to pull that off.