Gina Gallo Gina Gallo, Supreme Lady of the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine, is not just known for her iconic name in the California wine world, but as a prominent winemaker who is carrying on the pioneering tradition of her legendary grandfather, Julio Gallo who, with his brother Ernest, founded E & J Gallo Winery in 1933. Since padding around the Gallo vineyards in Modesto as a toddler, Gina has learned the business, literally from the ground up, and is following in the Gallo founders’ footsteps by blazing new winemaking trails in California and throughout the world. Her story is as inspiring as her accomplishments. Gina began her professional career by studying business psychology at Notre Dame de Namur University. She then joined the Gallo sales organization to learn all aspects of the family business. To expand her technical knowledge, she enrolled in the University of California, Davis, winemaking program, where she studied viticulture and enology. This is where she discovered her true calling — winemaking. She was mentored by her grandfather and winemaking veteran Marcello Monticello, one of the most respected of the Gallo winemakers and trusted friend of the family, where she honed her craft as an artisanal wine maker. After two decades in the cellar, she established the Gallo Signature Series, a personal collection of premium wines that “brings to life the enduring legacy of Ernest and Julio Gallo and celebrates our family’s vision for the future.” Today, Gina lives in Healdsburg, where she is Vice President of Estate Winemaking and winemaker for the Gallo Signature Series. For these wines, Gina selects “the best of the best” from their vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands, Napa Valley and throughout Sonoma County. Gina’s brother, Matt, is intricately involved
in the Signature Series wines as Vice President of Coastal Operations including wineries and vineyards in California’s north and central coast. Gina has been actively involved in the business and wine community, and has been honored with many accolades and awards, receiving the American Wine Society Award of Merit, and being named one of the Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink by Fortune magazine, and listed as #17 on Decanter magazine’s “Power List” of the most important men and women in wine. She is past president of the International Wine & Spirit competition and was inducted into the 2016 James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. In 2019, she co-chaired the Sonoma Wine Auction along with Chris Jackson of Jackson Family Wines, representing two of the most influential, long-term Sonoma wine families. Gina is married to KOV Supreme Knight JeanCharles Boisset, French vintner, and the proprietor of the Boisset Collection. Under Boisset’s leadership, the Boisset Collection operates 28 wineries in California, France and Canada. The couple have twin girls, born in 2011. Gina recently took time from her busy schedule to have a Zoom conference with Arbor Magazine, where she discussed her family history, her life as a winemaker and her involvement in KOV.
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The Arbor
