Gallo Enters Napa

[Botafogo]

From the San Fran Chronicle:

The sale was a result of market pressures that squeezed the Martinis' ability to distribute their wine, said Carolyn Martini, president and chief executive officer and a granddaughter of founder Louis M. Martini.

"You have to either be really small or really big," she said."We were somewhere in between."

While the winery has brand recognition and a host of awards for its selections, successfully distributing the products became too difficult. When Carolyn Martini joined the winery in 1975, there were 45 wholesalers; now, there are just three major players, she said.

I just hope and pray that someday John Ascroft will get tired off trying to re-write the constitution and get the Anti-Trust guys on to this....

Roberto

[This message has been edited by Botafogo (edited 09-10-2002).]