Gina Gallo, E & J Gallo, United States of America
2007 president, International Wine and Spirit Competition
By the time she was 10 years old, Gina Gallo, the 2007 IWSC president, already had an avid interest in nature and making things grow. She enjoyed tending the gardens with her father and grandfather and picking fruits and vegetables that her mother and grandmother would turn into family meals. As a teenager, Gina spent her high school summers working at the Gallo family's winery, and after graduating from the Notre Dame de Namur University in 1990 with majors in Business and Psychology, she joined the Gallo sales team.
Shortly thereafter, Gina followed in the footsteps of her grandfather Julio Gallo and found her true calling as a winemaker. She began her journey by enrolling in the acclaimed winemaking program at the University of California at Davis and then accepted a position as an apprentice winemaker at the experimental micro-winery in Modesto with her grandfather and Marcello Monticelli, a 30-year Gallo team veteran. Three years later, Gina completed her first full harvest in the role of winemaker.
It was Ernest Gallo, her great uncle, and Julio Gallo, her grandfather, who taught Gina that Sonoma County was home to some of the best wine grapes in the world. So it comes as little surprise that Gina makes her home there, serving as winemaker of Gallo Family Vineyards Sonoma Reserve, crafted from the grapes grown by her brother Matt Gallo. Through the years, Gina and Matt have established one of the most award-winning wineries in the world, and have received major accolades along the way, including the San Francisco International Wine Competition's "Winery of the Year" award and VinItalys "International Winery of the Year" award.
Active in many wine industry organizations and charitable associations, Gina sits on the Boards of Directors of Hunger Related Events, a national charity that raises funds to feed the hungry in cities across America; The United Way of Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake counties; Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, dedicated to the education and advancement of women in the restaurant industry; and the Russian River Valley Wine Growers. In addition, Gina is the only person to be named both red and white Winemaker of the Year at the Japan Wine Challenge, Asia's largest wine competition.
Her winemaking education continues today with every harvest under the guidance of her father Robert J. Gallo, and wine master Marcello Monticelli.