News

E.&J. Gallo acquires Denner Vineyards

11 November 2022 By Sarah Neish

Denner Vineyards in the Willow Creek area of Paso Robles, California, has become the 20th winery to join E.&J. Gallo’s growing portfolio.

E&J Gallo has announced it has purchased Denner Vineyards in the Sunshine State for an undisclosed sum. The sale is said to include the Denner brand, the winery and all 52 hectares of the estate’s vineyards.

Known for its premium Rhône and Bordeaux-style wines, Denner’s outlook on sustainability chimes with E&J Gallo’s green approach.

“For 20 years, Ron Denner has stayed true to the land and his vision to produce great wines from the acclaimed Paso Robles region, cultivating an authentic, diverse portfolio,” Joseph C. Gallo, vice president and general manager, said. “We look forward to drawing inspiration from and working with Ron and winemaker Anthony Yount.”

The vineyard’s former owner, Ron Denner, added: “Gallo is a family company with a commitment to quality. I have no doubt they will be good stewards of the land and preserve our legacy of creating sought-after wines and offering best-in-class winery experiences.”

Denner’s estate sits snugly inside the Templeton Gap, an East to West air corridor where the sea breeze can flow into the inland valleys. As a result there are large diurnal swings in the vineyard, without high moisture pressure, which according to the winery’s former custodians “gives a near perfect growing climate”.

Yount has previously described Denner’s approach to winemaking as “making sure that we are being true to the place and the time in which our grapes were grown. If we’re adding commercial yeast, or enzymes, or any other newfound winemaking products then you’re blurring the lines of what this vineyard has to say.”

This minimal intervention in the winery, he says, allows the team to blend wines “with great textural presence with those that are a little more polished, as well as single-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache.

A 14,000 watt ground solar project was added to the Denner property in 2008, which at the time supplied all the energy needed to power the winery.

Denner is known for the intriguing and creative names of its wines, some of which include: Dirt Worshipper; Sacred Burro; Mother of Exiles and Ditch Digger.

Gallo’s diverse portfolio includes Apothic, Barefoot Wine, Black Box, La Marca Prosecco and RumChata. This month, Barefoot Pinot Grigio became the most popular white wine with UK consumers.

Zepponi & Company served as the exclusive financial advisor for the sale.

Is Monastrell the climate-adaptable grape the industry needs?

The story of Maison Simonnet-Febvre’s new Chablis Premier Cru Forêts