E & J Gallo Winery was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo

Ernest Gallo

Ernest Gallo was the American co-founder of the E & J Gallo Winery. He was ranked 297th on the 2006 Forbes 400 list of billionaires. With his brother they founded the E.&J...

 and Julio Gallo

Julio Gallo

Julio Gallo was one of the founders of the E & J Gallo Winery.-Biography:He was born on March 21, 1910 in Oakland, California to Joseph Gallo, Sr. He had two brothers: his partner in the wine business, Ernest Gallo; and his youngest brother, Joseph Edward Gallo. Joseph Gallo, Sr. died in a...

 in Modesto, California

Modesto, California

Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....

. E & J Gallo Winery is the largest exporter of California wines and is a large promoter of wines from Sonoma County.
The two brothers started the winery following the repeal of Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 after years of growing and selling grapes. Ernest and Julio were competing against larger, more established, and better financed companies, including more than 800 wine companies established in the first few years after the repeal of Prohibition in California.