Folksy spokesman is back in online spots for Gallo

By John Holland
jholland@modbee.com

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Fifteen years after his death, Carlo Rossi carries on, hawking Modesto-made wines with his same old homespun humor.

E.&J. Gallo Winery has revived television commercials featuring Rossi for an online campaign about the jug wines sold under his name.

The star of the 10 ads was a longtime Gallo salesman named Charles Rossi. The ads, which aired from 1976 to 1982, mostly show "Carlo" talking in a vineyard about the simple pleasures of wine.

Carlo Rossi Wine is looking for the leader of the "Carlo Rossi Posse." The winner receives $10,000 to outfit their dream den. (Carlo Rossi Wine)

Watch the Carlo Rossi commercials

"He was a great spokesman for the wine," said Christine Reardon of Hunter Public Relations, the New York City firm working on the campaign. "He kind of distinguished himself as this fun-loving guy."

Such as in a 1982 commercial in which Rossi gently jabs at wine-tasting rituals:

"First the swirl, then the sniff. But you know the way I really like to test wine? It's called a swallow, and Carlo Rossi wines are a real pleasure to swallow anytime."

The brand, introduced in 1955, has continued to be a Gallo mainstay even as the company moved in the past two decades into premium wines from Sonoma County and elsewhere.

The Carlo Rossi Web site plays up the regular-folks angle. It has a recipe for macaroni and cheese made with chardonnay and another for "chili con chianti."

The site also has an essay contest in which people vie to lead the "Rossi Posse." The prize is $10,000 worth of furnishings

"to help you create a den that Carlo would be proud of." The suggested touches include a recliner, a turbocharged wine fridge and a gold-plated chip bowl.

(Bad news for Californians: State alcohol rules bar them from entering contests of this sort.)

Carlo Rossi wines still come in screw-capped glass jugs with a convenient ring at the neck and a picture of Rossi on the label. A boxed version recently was added.

Four-liter jugs were priced at $9.49 at Raley's on Floyd Avenue.

Reardon said the campaign could hook wine drinkers ages 25 to 35.

"You see people across the board drinking Carlo Rossi," Reardon said. "It's a very fun wine. It's actually really good for its price point."

This is not the first time Gallo has taken this approach with a lower-end brand. It is in the midst of a campaign for Livingston Cellars that celebrates RV travel and has Joyce DeWitt of "Three's Company" fame as the spokeswoman.

Two years ago, Gallo ran an online campaign with clips of the fictional Frank Bartles and Ed Jaymes, the folksy duo who introduced TV viewers to Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers in the 1980s.

For the Carlo Rossi commercials, Gallo did not need to create a character. It had one on its sales staff � a grandfatherly man with a lighthearted view of wine.

In a 1979 ad for paisano, one of the reds, Rossi suggests pairings with food:

"Paisano means friend, and paisano is a friendly wine. My friends enjoy it as much with fried chicken or fish as they do with spaghetti."

Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at jholland@modbee.com or 578-2385.