Gallo will distribute more Italian wines

E.&J. Gallo Winery of Modesto has obtained U.S. distribution rights for another luxury wine brand from Italy.

Starting May 9, the company will distribute Pieropan wines from Soave in the northeast region of Veneto. The products sell for $20 to $50.

Gallo has created a new unit, LUX Wines, for this and other luxury wines from around the world.

“Four generations of the Pieropan family have been dedicated to making the finest traditional varieties of Soave,” Roger Nabedian, senior vice president of Gallo’s Premium Wine Division, said in a news release. “These wines are widely appealing and we are excited to share Pieropan’s award-winning wines with American consumers.”

The announcement comes three years after Gallo got distribution rights for Brancaia wines from Tuscany and a year after it did the same for Allegrini Estates from the Valpolicella region and Poggio al Tesoro from Tuscany.

Gallo, the world’s largest winemaker, has its main domestic production in the San Joaquin Valley, along with wineries in coastal California regions and Washington state. It also imports several lower-priced Italian brands, along with wines from Spain, Germany, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

Pieropan, founded in 1880, is run today by Nino and Teresita Pieropan with their sons, Dario and Andrea.

Wines in the distribution agreement include Soave Classico La Rocca, made with white Garganega grapes, and blends of Garganega and Trebbiano under the Soave Classico Calvarino and Pieropan Soave Classico labels.

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Gallo will distribute more Italian wines."