Goodbye, Wine Snobs: How E. & J. Gallo Winery Courts Millennials

(AdAge) - As VP-marketing for E. & J. Gallo Winery, Stephanie Gallo is charged with overseeing a portfolio of mass-produced wines at the nation's largest wine company. And if you ask her, there couldn't be a better time to have the job, even if it comes with the added pressure of having your family name on the bottle.

Eight family members work for the marketer, including Ms. Gallo's father, Joseph Gallo, who is CEO. Ms. Gallo was raised in Modesto, Calif., the company's headquarters, and the wine business has always been a part of her life. Growing up, her dad sounded her out on everything from packaging to brand-name advice. She worked internships in various parts of the company before landing her first full-time job at Gallo at age 22, when she took an entry-level sales job in Chicago.

While attending graduate school at Northwestern University, Ms. Gallo remembers people encouraging her to explore other companies. But "at the end of the day I could not see myself getting passionate about soap or pet products," she said. "What I was passionate about was carrying on the mission of what the founders started."

"I've always been fascinated with the role that the Gallo brand has played in American society," said Ms. Gallo, granddaughter of Ernest Gallo, who founded the company in 1933 with his brother, Julio. "[Their] mission was really to democratize wine. They believed 80 years ago that wine was not an elitist beverage." It took a while, but "we are just starting to see that," she added.