Wine company based in Ceres in the San Joaquin Valley in California, one of the largest in the world. The artificial word "Bronco" was formed from "Brotherand Cousin", connected by "n" (from the "and"). The company is owned by Fred Franzia (*1944), who runs it as CEO, his brother Joseph and both cousins John Franzia. Fred's grandfather Guiseppe Franzia and his wife Teresa immigrated from Genoa, Italy in 1893 and acquired 80 acres of vineyards in the Central Valley. One of their daughters named Amalie married wine legend Ernest Gallo (1909-2007), who was therefore Fred Franzia's uncle.
Foundation of Franzia Brothers Winery
Wine was produced on a small scale until just before Prohibition. After prohibition was lifted, the five sons of the couple (including Fred's father Joe) founded the "Franzia Brothers Winery" in 1933. Three of the brothers sold their shares against the will of the other two in 1971 for a ridiculous sum of one million dollars each. The remaining two brothers, including Fred's father, then sold the winery in 1973 for 50 million dollars to the new majority owner Coca-Cola Bottling Company. This also included the right to use the Franzia name. In the course of a management buy-out of Coca Cola's wine activities, the company was merged into the Multi Wine Group in 1981.
Foundation of Bronco Wine Company
The Bronco Wine Company was founded in 1974 shortly after the sale of the former Franzia family business. Fred Franzia's aim was to produce good wines at an extremely low price and thus to compete with the successful mass wine of the former family winery, which was piquantly marketed there under the label "Franzia" . The estate now covers 35,000 hectares (that's 140 km²), most of it in California's Central Valley (San Joaquin Valley), but also in Napa Valley, Santa Barbara County and Sonoma Valley.
There are several huge production facilities. Around 20 million cases of wine are marketed annually under various labels. These include Albertoni Yineyards, American Airlines, Bad Dog Ranch, Black Mountain, Chateau California, Congress Springs, Domaine Laurier, Domaine Napa, Down Under, Estralla, Fat Cat, Foxbrook, Glass Mountain, Grand Cru, Grove Ridge, Hacienda, Napa Crossing, Pacific Oasis, Rabbit Ridge, Redwood, Rock Brock, Silver Ridge, Thousand Oaks and Three Knight Vineyards.
Charles Shaw and Two buck chuck brand wines
The best-known brand, however, is "Charles Shaw", named after a former winery or the owner (this brand name was acquired in 1994). It is a so-called value brand that sells for $1.99 in California. Its many fans casually refer to it as "Two buck chuck" (buck = slang for dollar) and it is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Valdiguié. Outside California, it is more expensive because of the transport costs, and there it is called "Three buck chuck" or "Four buck chuck".
These are by no means inferior mass wines, but quality products. This phenomenal price is only possible because the production processes are meticulously planned. For example, the vineyards are three miles long, which is why the tractors have to turn less often, which in turn saves time and fuel. The trucks then drive the harvest according to a strict schedule, non-stop and just-in-time for further processing. And because the harvesting process is so meticulously planned, the grapes can also ripen longer. Every cent saved in the production of a single bottle already generates hundreds of thousands of dollars. The brand is sold exclusively in the US supermarket chain "Trader Joe's".
Picture above: By Imokurnotok - Own work, Public Domain, Link
Picture bottom left: By Mack Male - flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Picture bottom right: By Cullen328 - Own work, CC0, Link
