Deep roots in the San Joaquin Valley

FRED Franzia appears to be the flip side to the gentlemanly leading figures of California wine: Robert Mondavi, 89, the elder statesman who commands everyone’s respect, and Ernest Gallo, the 94-year-old patriarch who wields the most serious economic might.

But in fact, Franzia is from one of the oldest wine families in California and a nephew of Gallo’s.

“The Franzia family was second- or third-rate compared to Gallo,” says Michael Mondavi, Robert’s son and Franzia’s friend. “Fred’s energy, focus and drive come from family,” he says, adding that “the only person who counts with him is Ernest Gallo.”

Giuseppe Franzia, Fred’s grandfather, came to California in 1893 and settled in Ripon at the northern end of the San Joaquin Valley, about half an hour’s drive south of Lodi, where the Mondavi family first lived. He opened the family winery in 1915. Robert Mondavi and Joseph Franzia grew up together, sneaking out to the vineyards to smoke grape leaves, a punishable offense in those days.

After Prohibition, Fred’s father and uncles ran Franzia Bros. Winery until Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York bought it in 1973. The brand name now is owned by the Wine Group.

Fred joined with brother Joe and cousin John to start Bronco -- short for “brothers and cousins” -- the next year. “Fred was always the most visible of the three,” says John De Luca, president of the Wine Institute for the last 28 years.

Which, despite the family’s long history, still makes him one of the least visible figures in California wine.