Angry Gallos Pull $650,000 in Time Ads

FRESNO —  Angered by “vicious” magazine comments about family members of the Gallo wine dynasty, the world’s largest winery announced today it has yanked $650,000 in ads from Time Inc. publications.

The comments which reportedly angered Ernest and Julio Gallo were contained in a generally favorable article that appears in the Sept. 1 issue of Fortune magazine. The two Gallos, who live and run their business in Modesto, gave the magazine one of the few on-the-record interviews they have allowed in the last decade.

Among other things, the article alleged that Ernest’s two sons are not ideal corporate executives at E & J Gallo Winery, which produces almost 40% of California wine. The article called the judgment of son Joseph “uneven” and characterized another son, David, as given to “occasionally bizarre” behavior.

Repeated Shotgun Story

The article also repeated a story which the two Gallos have long denied was true, alleging that their father chased them across a field with a shotgun. The incident reportedly occurred shortly before the Gallos’ father killed his wife and then committed suicide in 1933 in Fresno.

The Gallos said that they were in Modesto at the time and that the “tragic deaths” were induced by the Depression.

“We have pulled our advertising from Time Inc. because of the many vicious and damaging inaccuracies in their treatment of the Gallo winery and the family,” Dan Solomon, communications director, said in a prepared statement.