E&J Gallo has announced its second acquisition in three weeks, buying a clutch of Californian wine brands.
The privately-owned US wine major has snapped up the Hahn Family Wines portfolio for an undisclosed sum.
In a statement, Gallo said the deal includes the Smith & Hook, Hahn and Hahn SLH brands but excludes the Hahn family’s vineyard assets.
“This acquisition reinforces Gallo’s strategy for continued growth while supporting our goal of delivering superior quality at great value to our consumers across all usage occasions,” Steve Carlotti, Gallo’s general manager of commercial brands, said.
Carlotti told Just Drinks the range sells from $13 “up to the more luxury level $50 bottles”.
He added: “Each of these brands over-delivers for its price, which is an incredible proposition for consumers. The main sales channels for these brands domestically is US retail, supported by a smaller, but significant, US on-premise programme.”
The Hahn family’s interests in California’s wine industry dates back more than 40 years. In 1980, company founder Nicky Hahn, alongside his wife Gaby, bought what became Smith & Hook Vineyards. They produced their first vintage in 1980. Nicky died in 2018.
According to the Hahn Family Wines website, son Philip Hahn is the company’s chairman. The group has six vineyards totalling more than 1,100 acres in the American Viticultural Areas of Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands.
Thomas Duhameau, the president of Hahn Family Wines, said: “I am confident the Hahn family’s Central Coast wine legacy is in the best hands with the Gallo family.”
Earlier this month, Gallo acquired US canned wine and spritzer brand Bev. The deal came two years after the company gained exclusive US distribution rights for the start-up.
Another deal in canned cocktails came in May when Gallo snapped up US-based Fishers Island Lemonade.
Elsewhere in the Californian wine sector, Donum Estate made its first acquisition of an “established vineyard” this month with the purchase of Savoy Vineyard.
Meanwhile, Shafer Vineyards has purchased a ten-acre vineyard in the Atlas Peak region of Napa Valley.
US wine group Duckhorn Portfolio has also suggested it plans to add more brands to its stable following last month’s acquisition of North Coast Winery and Vineyards in California’s Sonoma County.
