Have you ever heard of these companies? You’re likely more familiar with their grocery-shelf labels like FlipFlop, Robert Mondavi, or Barefoot. The Big Three own them all – and much more! So much more in fact, that you may be surprised that together they control well over 50% of all wine sales in the United States. The Big Three have a huge impact on the world of wine!
I’d even bet that the average wine enthusiast reading this probably has one or two of their bottles in the house right now.
See the below photos for a sampling of common brands.
I once had the amazing opportunity to tour the E.J. Gallo winery in Modesto, CA; I was shocked to see how large and professional their operation is. They have a one million gallon tank, which gets completely turned over every 5 weeks. If you drank an entire bottle of wine every day for the next 30 years, that tank would drop less than one inch! Their warehouse is over six football fields in area, with wine stacked to the rafters. Even more fantastic, they have a train that runs through the facility, picking up and dropping off wine throughout the day. E.J. Gallo is a true well-oiled machine, and frankly quite far from the idyllic vision you may have of an old farmer hand picking his grapes.
Despite this scale, efficiency, and dedication to quality control, many find their wine lacking in scrupulous quality. They certainly don’t create a poor product by any means; rather the Big Three focus on providing an affordable product, more so than a discerning one.
This also means the Big Three are “lean thinking” when it comes to farming, and the production of their wine. Profit takes center stage to all else in this highly competitive industry. Some cost-cutting methods include adding artificial extract for flavor, using oak staves or oak chips, and aging reds in casks (pictured below), vice barrels. They age their wines for months vice years and use 2nd and 3rd pressed wine, which inevitably leads to very low-end product. Remember, the Big Three constitute most of the wine you see in your local grocery store, and pretty much everything you see at the $5-$20 price point.
Considering all of this, it’s no wonder the Big Three get a bad rap from both wine enthusiasts and boutique wineries around the world! Frankly, I used to agree with them. Until…
Just about one year ago, it hit me like a wine bottle to the head. I realized: it’s because of the Big Three that I am the wine lover I am today! All wine enthusiasts – amateur or professional – likely started their path to the vineyard with one of these brands, with a history similar to my own (I would love to know what Robert Parker first bottle of wine was).
One fateful day in college, on a whim, I left that six pack of beer back on the shelf, and grabbed a bottle of Barefoot Chardonnay instead. That moment in time, E.J. Gallo did something amazing: they made a beer drinker into a fan of wine (btw, I still love a finely crafted brew)! It took another 5 years or so before I started taking the whole “wine thing” seriously, but the Big Three are what cracked my eyes open to this wonderful world. They do this thousands of time a day, to a thousand new wine enthusiasts-to-be, and it is a thankless job.
Only 40% of the American population drinks wine on a semi-regular basis. The Big Three are down in those muddy trenches, crafting wine that gets consumers to dip their toes into the wine pool. The small and boutique winemakers can hate on them all they want, but in the end they should probably thank the Big Three for their customer base. This alone is why the Big Three are so important to the wine world!
P.S. The Big Three are in a super-competitive race right now, attempting to break into the ultra high end market. It’s something I’m very interested to see, and a topic for a future article.