The Bronco Wine Company is a vintner

Vintner

A vintner is a wine merchant. You pronounce it like this In some modern use, in particular in American English, the term is alsoused as a synonym for winemaker....

 that produces wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

s under many brands and is based in Ceres, California

Ceres, California

Ceres is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 45,417 at the 2010 census, up from 34,609 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area.-General:...

. It is the fourth largest producer of wine in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Fred and Joe Franzia attended Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...

 and picked their school symbol for the company. Bronco is a contraction of Brothers and Cousin, after the three founders.

Key people

CEO Fred Franzia, nephew of wine legend Ernest Gallo

E & J Gallo Winery

E & J Gallo Winery was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo in Modesto, California. E & J Gallo Winery is the largest exporter of California wines and is a large promoter of wines from Sonoma County.-History:...

, started Bronco Wine in 1973, with his brother, Joseph, and cousin, John Franzia, after the Franzia

Franzia

Franzia is a brand of wine produced by The Wine Group, known for its box wines sold in 3 and 5-liter cartons. Franzia wines are quite inexpensive, making it well known and popular among college students in the United States. Flavors include White Wine Chardonnay and Red Sangria...

 winery business was purchased by Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 and then later by the Wine Group

The Wine Group

The Wine Group, known for its Franzia "wine in a box," is the United State's third-largest wine company, by volume, behind Constellation Brands and the E&J Gallo Winery. The company was founded in 1981 with a management buyout of the wine assets of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York...

, a privately held bulk wine producer based in San Francisco (the source of the "bag-in-box" wines that bear the Franzia name, but which have no connection to either the Franzia family or to Bronco).

Land holdings

Bronco owns over 35,000 acres (140 km²) of vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

s most of which is located in California's Central Valley. With storage and production facilities in Ceres

Ceres, California

Ceres is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 45,417 at the 2010 census, up from 34,609 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area.-General:...

, Napa Valley

Napa Valley AVA

Napa Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Napa County, California, United States. Napa Valley is considered one of the top wine regions in the United States...

, Sonoma Valley

Sonoma Valley AVA

The Sonoma Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Sonoma County, California, USA which centers on the Sonoma Valley in the southern portion of the county...

, Escalon

Escalon, California

Escalon is a city in San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 7,132 at the 2010 census, up from 5,963 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

 and Madera

Madera, California

Madera is a city in and the county seat of Madera County, California, United States. It is a principal city of the Madera–Chowchilla Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Madera County, and Metropolitan Fresno. It is located in California's San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2010...

. The wine producer has the capacity to produce 61 million gallons (230 million L) of wine annually. Total annual sales are approximately 20 million cases.

Marketing

Bronco Wine is best known for its Charles Shaw

Charles Shaw wine

Charles Shaw is a brand of "extreme value" wine . Largely made from California grapes, Charles Shaw wines currently include Cabernet Sauvignon, White Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Valdiguie in the style of Beaujolais nouveau, and limited quantities of Pinot Grigio...

 brand, commonly nicknamed "Two Buck Chuck", varietals that retail for $1.99 a bottle at Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. , Trader Joe's had a total of 365 stores. Approximately half of its stores are in California, with the heaviest concentration in Southern California, but the company also has locations in 30...

 stores in California and some other states. Slightly higher prices prevail elsewhere, due mainly to transportation expense. In the East, it is, for example, called "Three Buck Chuck" or "Four Buck Chuck."

Franzia's marketing methods contrast with those of his higher priced competitors, although he is also credited with introducing new consumers to the wine market and ultimately to the premium brands. His business model is based on ownership of over 45000 acres (182.1 km²), largest in the country, and the continuing surplus of grapes.

Franzia himself has said in reference to claims that he sells wine for virtually the same price as a bottle of water:

"They're overcharging for the water. Don't you get it?".

and

"I don't make wine to put in a closet. We sell wine to drink."

Media reports

A profile in SF Weekly

SF Weekly

SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los...

 noted:

Franzia, his brother, and a cousin co-own Bronco and control at least 35,000 acres (140 km²) of vineyards under cultivation in the Central Valley, more than any other entity...Bronco also controls its own distribution company, Classic Wines of California...an empire that stretches from near Sacramento to the edge of the Tehachapi Mountains an hour north of Los Angeles, where Bronco is busy planting at least one new "section" -- which is to say, 640 acres (2.6 km²), or a square mile -- each year.http://www.sfweekly.com/2005-08-24/news/discount-dynasty/

As of March 2007 the company has no website, though it owns the domain name broncowineco.com and others.

Franzia and Bronco were also featured in the 2007 documentary A State of Vine

A State of Vine (film)

A State of Vine is a 2007 American documentary film about winemaking. It is directed by Don Scioli. With insight and commentary from many members of the wine world – including Two Buck Chuck’s Fred Franzia, champion racecar driver and winery owner Mario Andretti, award winning winemakers, Bob...

.

Legal problems

In 1993 Franzia and Bronco Wine Company were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to defraud by misrepresenting cheaper grapes as premium Zinfandel

Zinfandel

Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Puglia , where it was introduced in the 18th century...

 and Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

. Bronco pleaded no contest

Nolo contendere

is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...

 and paid a $2.5 million fine. Franzia also pled guilty for his involvement, paid a $500,000 fine, stepped down as Bronco's president and member of the company's board of directors and agreed to refrain from having any involvement with grape purchasing for five years in lieu of prison time.

Franzia has also been at odds with California's premium winemakers for several years over his inclusion of Napa and other related appellation

Appellation

An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...

 terms on labels of his wines. Franzia sued the state of California over implementation of a 2000 law that tightened Federal labeling laws. His lawsuit was unsuccessful initially and up through the appeals process as well; he eventually sought certiorari

Certiorari

Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...

 in the United States Supreme Court, but the Court declined to take the case.

Labor problems

On May 16, 2008, a pregnant, 17 year-old migrant worker named Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez collapsed and later died while pruning vines at a vineyard east of Stockton, CA owned by West Coast Grape Farming, a division of Bronco Wines. According to witnesses, foremen did nothing to aid Vasquez Jimenez until at least five minutes after she collapsed. Vasquez Jimenez and her fellow laborers were allowed only one water break per day, with each work day lasting at least ten hours.

Additionally, the only water source provided for Vasquez Jimenez and her fellow workers was a 10-minute walk away in temperatures that topped 95 degrees. Employers who are found to have willfully violated heat laws can be fined a maximum of $25,000. The United Farm Workers Union is protesting Vasquez Jimenez's treatment as an "egregious" violation of Cal-OSHA safety regulations.

Wine awards

The affordable Charles Shaw Chardonnay wine beat out 350 other California chardonnays to win the double gold at the 2007 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. Charles Shaw Chardonnay is mass-produced in California and sold only through Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. , Trader Joe's had a total of 365 stores. Approximately half of its stores are in California, with the heaviest concentration in Southern California, but the company also has locations in 30...

 grocery stores. "We choose to sell good quality wines at $2 a bottle because we think it's a fair price," Fred Franzia told ABC News. "We think the other people are charging too much."

Brands

The Bronco Wine Company maintains over 50 brands of wine, including:

• Albertoni Vineyards
• Alexander and Fitch
• Almond Creek
• Bad Dog Ranch
• Bears' Lair
• Black Mountain
• CC Vineyards
• Cedar Brook
• Charles Shaw
  Charles Shaw wine
  Charles Shaw is a brand of "extreme value" wine . Largely made from California grapes, Charles Shaw wines currently include Cabernet Sauvignon, White Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Valdiguie in the style of Beaujolais nouveau, and limited quantities of Pinot Grigio...
  
  , AKA Two Buck Chuck
• Chateau California
• Coastal Ridge
• Coastal Vines
• Congress Springs
• Crane Lake
• Domaine Laurier
• Domaine Napa
• Dona Sol
• Douglass Hill
• Down Under

• Estrella
• Fat Cat
• Forest Glen
• Forest Hill
• ForestVille
• Foxbrook
• FoxHollow
• Grand Cru
• Green Fin
• Grove Ridge
• Hacienda
• Harlow Ridge
• JW Morris
• JFJ Winery
• Laurier
• Mongo Wine
• Montpellier
• Napa Creek
• Napa Crossing
• Napa Landing

• Napa Ridge
• Napa River
• Oak Vineyards
• Pacific Oasis
• Quail Creek
• Quail Ridge
• Raymond Hill
• Redwood
• Rock Brook
• Rutherford Vintners
• Salmon Creek
• Santa Barbara Crossing
• Santa Barbara Landing
• Sea Ridge
• Silver Ridge
• The California Winery
• Thousand Oaks
• Three Knights Vineyards
• Trellis

External links

• Company information from Hoover's Online.
• Fred Franzia Warms at 30th Anniversary of Bronco Wine Company by Paul Franson from Wine Business Monthly in June 2004.
• http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/18/WIGG0ISRON1.DTL Article from San Francisco Chronicle regarding labeling lawsuit
• http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060501/franzia.html Article from Inc. magazine about Fred Franzia
• How a $2 bottle changed wine industry article from msnbc.com