Bronco Wine Company

History

CEO Fred Franzia – nephew of wine legend Ernest Gallo – started Bronco Wine in 1973 with his brother Joseph and his cousin, John Franzia, after the Franzia winery business was purchased by Coca-Cola. The Franzia brand was later purchased by the Wine Group, a privately held bulk wine producer based in San Francisco (the source of the "bag-in-box" wines that bear the Franzia name but which have no connection to either the Franzia family or to Bronco).

In 1995, Bronco Wine Company purchased the brand name Charles Shaw from a bankrupt company for US$27,000 and used it for a line of very inexpensive wines, introduced in 2002 and priced at $1.99 per bottle. The wines became nicknamed "Two-Buck Chuck" and were sold exclusively through Trader Joe's stores.

In August 2013, Bronco Wine Company entered into a marketing campaign for its Allure Moscato wine products in partnership with Hip Hop artist Warren G and Brand Elite, LLC.

Activities

Bronco owns over 35,000 acres (140 km) of vineyards, most of which are located in California's Central Valley, with storage and production facilities in Ceres, Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Escalon, and Madera. Bronco can produce 61 million gallons (230 million L) of wine annually. Total annual sales were approximately 20 million cases.

Franzia's marketing methods contrast with his higher-priced competitors, although he is also credited with introducing new consumers to the wine market and ultimately to the premium brands. His business model is based on ownership of over 45,000 acre, the largest in the country, and the continuing surplus of grapes. Franzia said about claims that he sells wine for virtually the same price as a bottle of water: "They're overcharging for the water. Don't you get it?" and "I don't make wine to put in a closet. We sell wine to drink."

Bronco Wine is best known for its Charles Shaw wine brand of varietals, which for over ten years were commonly nicknamed "Two Buck Chuck" because of the retail price of $1.99 a bottle at Trader Joe's stores in California and some other states. "We choose to sell good quality wines at $2 a bottle because we think it's a fair price," Fred Franzia told ABC News. "We think the other people are charging too much." The Charles Shaw Chardonnay wine won the double gold at the 2007 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition.

Brands

The Bronco Wine Company maintains over 250 brands of wine, including:

• Albertoni Vineyards
• Alexander and Fitch
• Almond Creek
• Bad Dog Ranch
• Bears' Lair
• Black Mountain
• Blue Fin
• CC Vineyards
• Cedar Brook
• Charles Shaw, AKA "Two Buck Chuck"
• Chateau California
• Coastal Ridge
• Coastal Vines
• Congress Springs
• Crane Lake
• Domaine Laurier
• Domaine Napa
• Dona Sol
• Douglass Hill
• Down Under
• Estrella
• Fat Cat
• Forest Glen
• Forest Hill
• ForestVille
• Foxbrook
• Grand Cru
• Green Fin
• Green Truck
• Grove Ridge
• Hacienda
• Harlow Ridge
• JW Morris
• JFJ Winery
• Laurier
• Mongo Wine
• Montpellier
• Napa Creek
• Napa Crossing
• Napa Landing
• Napa Ridge
• Napa River
• Oak Vineyards
• Pacific Oasis
• Pink Truck
• Quail Creek
• Quail Ridge
• Raymond Hill
• Red Truck
• Redwood
• Rock Brook
• Rutherford Vintners
• Salmon Creek
• Santa Barbara Crossing
• Santa Barbara Landing
• Sea Ridge
• Silver Ridge
• The California Winery
• Thousand Oaks
• Three Knights Vineyards
• Trellis
• White Truck

Concerns and incidents

In 1993, Franzia and Bronco Wine Company were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to defraud by misrepresenting cheaper grapes as premium Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Bronco pleaded no contest and paid a $2.5 million fine. Franzia also pleaded guilty to his involvement, paid a $500,000 fine, stepped down as Bronco's president and member of the company's board of directors, and agreed to refrain from involvement with grape purchasing for five years in lieu of prison time.

Franzia has also been at odds with California's premium winemakers for several years over his inclusion of Napa and other related appellation terms on the labels of his wines. Franzia sued the state of California over the implementation of a 2000 law that tightened federal labeling laws. His lawsuit was unsuccessful initially and up through the appeals process as well; he eventually sought certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, but the Court declined to take the case.

References

References

1. "Industry Market Research, Reports, and Statistics".
2. Holland, John. (30 January 2024). "New generation leads Bronco Wine, maker of Two Buck Chuck and other Central Valley products".
3. Weber, Lindsay. (2025-04-29). "Major California wine producer to layoff nearly 150 employees in Ceres". KCRA.
4. Bronco Wine Company. (20 January 2020). "The Biggest Wine Company You've Never Heard Of".
5. Krishna, Priya. (September 15, 2022). "Fred Franzia, 79, Dies; Upended Wine Industry With Two-Buck Chuck". The New York Times.
6. (2013-08-15). "Warren G Partners with Bronco Wine Company and Brand Elite as the New Face of Allure Moscato". Warren G Allure Moscato.
7. Pattison, Kermit. (May 1, 2006). "The Scourge of Napa Valley".
8. (August 12, 2009). "'Two Buck Chuck' Wine Aims for Both Quality and Quantity".
9. Ho, Erica. (2013-01-25). "Trader Joe’s Two-Buck Chuck Gets a Price Hike". Time.
10. (29 June 2007). "The judgment of California: Charles Shaw chardonnay is state's best". Napa Valley Register.
11. "Brand Owner Bronco Wine Company". Uchisearch, LLC.
12. "RedTruckWinery".
13. Woutat, Donald. (1994-01-30). "State Near Bottom of Barrel of Wine Grape Scandal : Fraud: Wineries that unwittingly bought overpriced grapes simply used them to make overpriced wine. New safeguards are now in place.".
14. "First Amendment Center".