E. & J. Gallo Winery plans to close a large Napa Valley winery and trim jobs at four other North Coast locations, affecting 93 jobs in the region over the next 12 months.
It’s the latest scale-back by one of the world’s largest vintners amid some of the most challenging times for the industry in recent memory.
The Modesto-based company intends to shut down The Ranch Winery in St. Helena and cut staff at Louis M. Martini Winery in St. Helena, Orin Swift Cellars tasting room in Napa, J Vineyards & Winery near Healdsburg and the large Frei Ranch winery in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices sent to local officials and labor agencies Feb. 12.
Gallo plans to start letting go workers in mid-April and finish by the end of January 2027, the documents said. The company hasn’t responded to requests for comment.
E&J Gallo
Inside of The Ranch Winery near St. Helena (Courtesy: Gallo)
The Ranch Winery
The Ranch Winery near St. Helena is set up to serve small- and large-scale vintner clients with crush capacity of 30,000 tons of grapes. Gallo acquired the facility in December 2015. (Courtesy: The Ranch Winery)
Courtesy of J Vineyards
The Bubble Room at J Vineyards near Healdsburg (Courtesy: J Vineyards)
The Louis M. Martini Winery in St. Helena, Saturday, July 5, 2008. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)2008
Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat
Ignacio Martinez watches Chardonnay grapes unload at Gallo of Sonoma Winery, in Healdsburg, on Monday, September 16, 2013. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
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E&J Gallo
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Inside of The Ranch Winery near St. Helena (Courtesy: Gallo)
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More than half the layoffs (56) will be at The Ranch, a 70.4-acre property Gallo purchased just over 10 years ago as part of its push into superpremium- and luxury-priced wines. Those cuts include 31 positions in the cellar, 13 in bottling and four each in maintenance, winemaking and quality control.
At Martini, Gallo plans to let go 15 workers, five in the cellar, four each in the tasting room and kitchen and two in maintenance.
Two jobs are set to be cut at Orin Swift tasting room at 1321 First St. Gallo purchased Orin Swift in 2016 and its downtown Napa tasting room opened in last 2023.
Eleven layoffs are coming at J, which Gallo bought the same year as The Ranch and its large north Sonoma County winery at Asti. Affected at J, known for its sparkling wine, are six jobs in the tasting room and five in the kitchen.
At Frei Ranch, originally purchased by the Gallo family as a 2,000-acre vineyard five decades ago, three jobs in winemaking and four in quality control are affected.
Two other jobs listed among Gallo’s North Coast layoffs are classified as involving research into making premium wines but were not tied to a specific location.
Gallo’s North Coast cost-cutting moves follow the closure in September of its Courtside Cellars winery in San Luis Obispo County on California’s Central Coast, affecting 47 workers.
Jeff Quackenbush joined North Bay Business Journal in May 1999. He covers primarily wine, construction and real estate. Reach him at jeff@nbbj.news or 707-521-4256.
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