2007年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-Ernest Gallo's Dream of a Wine Business

With a loan from a relative and a recipe he found in the basement at the local public library, Ernest Gallo founded what would become, at one point, the world's largest winery. The legendary¹ wine maker² died Tuesday at his home in Modesto, California. He was 97.

Ernest Gallo and his brother Julio founded ENJ Gallo Winery in 1933 with just three employees. From the beginning, their goal was to turn America into a wine-drinking country by producing wine the average men could afford. Adam Armstrong is the editor and publisher of Wine Enthusiast³ Magazine. He began his career working for the Gallo brothers and he joins us now, so glad you with us.

Glad to be here, Michelle.

Now, when the Gallo brothers began their business, did they actually have a vision that California would one day hold this exalted⁴ place as a wine-making region?

Well they had a dream and they believed in that dream, and that in their passion was what really, er, drove wine and introduced wine to Americans and they had a vision that someday America could be a wine-drinking nation. And then States really come to provision in the last few years, but the building blocks of this wine-drinking nation were really founded by Earnest and Julio Gallo. It's kind of interesting these are two men who really, their sales marketing⁵ background with it, prematurely⁶ instinctual, but their techniques are today the prototype of sales in marketing textbooks in the best business schools in America.

Their techniques, tell me about them.

Well, the understanding is, what's really basic about getting your product in a place where people can see it, the best positioning, and understanding the retail⁷, and the dynamics⁸ of distributing products. They started with affordable⁹ wild base wines which they believed would find their home on more American tables for then the other and Ernest single-handedly convinced the consumers that wine was something they should try it they did enjoy. And one of the things they did was they took the risk and they used television for a product that really wasn't well distributed, which touted¹⁰ the delicious flavors of wines such as Hardy¹¹ Burgundy and Shabbily blonde. Those were some of their earlier wines. And because of this risk, er, more people walked into the doors of they heard it called liquor stores and they asked for a product called wine.

Now I wanna ask you specifically about the tragedy in the Gallo family. Is his father shot himself?

They claimed? OK, that his father, Um, shot his mother and his father. But you know we don't really know what happened. But when you think about someone like Earnest and Julio, taking a personal tragedy like that and parleying it into a passion, I think that's, well, that's the real thing to focus on.

Eventually Gallo did move into higher end wines, they brought up some of their competitors, as they started up Saloma a few other labels, but were they ever able to shake their reputation as a producer of table wines, wine for the common-men.

I think yes, and they had a difficult challenge coz many people believed you need to build a brand top down, but Ernest believed that he want to establish a brand with a large authority as a people. And they are creating some superb single veneers¹² and Wine Enthusiast Magazine rating went into the nineties, so that's their goal and that's their massage¹³, they have great wines for people at all price points.

Well, Adam Armstrong, thank you so much for sharing stories about your friend, Daniel Mentor¹⁴, thank you so much.

Thank you, Michelle, I'm appreciate the call.

This is Adam Armstrong, he is the editor and publisher of Wine Enthusiast Magazine

1 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

4 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

7 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

8 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

9 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

10 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

11 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

12 veneers   

n.饰面薄板( veneer的名词复数 )；虚假的外表；虚饰；牙罩冠

参考例句：

• In plywood the wood has been cut into veneers. 在制胶合板时，把木材切成单板。 来自辞典例句
• Glues for veneers, plywood, interior woodwork such as panels and so on. 用来粘合美耐板、三夹板，或是壁板、门板等室内木制品的粘胶。 来自互联网

13 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

14 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。