Barefoot Is Our American Winery of the Year for an Important Reason
When brothers Ernest and Julio Gallo founded their eponymous winery nearly a century ago, they understood the key to their success.
“We must endeavor constantly to win new friends for wine,” echoes Ernest’s granddaughter, Stephanie Gallo, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer. “And there isn’t a brand in the United States that welcomes more new friends to wine than Barefoot Wine.”
The best-selling wine in the United States, with more than $555 million in sales last year, Barefoot introduced 3.7 million new buyers to the brand in 2024 alone. That includes considerable growth among younger generations attracted to the $15-or-less prices, and a major foothold in the United Kingdom, where it is also the top-performing brand.
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That’s quite a leap from when it began as a side project in 1965 for Davis Bynum, who sold the label 21 years later to Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey. The growth exploded after they hired winemaker Jennifer Wall, who expanded the lineup, greatly expanded production, and focused on consistency.
“All the Barefoot wines are fruit forward, food friendly, and varietally correct—if they don’t have those attributes, they don’t go into the bottle,” Wall says. “No matter where anyone is in the world, they’re getting the same surprise and delight and the same incredible experience every single time. That’s really important.”
There isn’t a brand in the United States that welcomes more new friends to wine than Barefoot Wine.
Stephanie Gallo, Chief Marketing Officer, E. & J. Gallo Winery
Wall has found particular success in sparkling wines, which were launched just before the millennium. “We found out that people really loved having sparkling wine for everyday occasions,” she says. “They just weren’t interested in paying those French Champagne premium prices on an everyday basis.”
They struck similar gold with Pinot Grigio, which was launched in 2006, one year after Gallo acquired the brand. “It’s the biggest wine in our portfolio,” Wall says.
Barefoot now partners with the NFL, welcoming 2.6 million new buyers during the 2024–2025 season. “We have to meet consumers where they are, and consumers are drinking wine differently than they did 10, 15, 20 years ago,” says Gallo. “Programs like the NFL open up the aperture as to where wine can be consumed and enjoyed.”
While Bynum chose the Barefoot logo to represent traditional winemaking, the brand today embraces the symbol’s global meaning. “I don’t care where you go in the world, but what a bare foot ultimately stands for is relaxation,” says Wall.
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They recently updated packaging for the first time in decades—relying on concise two-word descriptions of each wine—and unveiled 200-ml Tetra Paks, which are popular for retailers and restaurants. “There’s zero waste, and everybody’s getting a fresh pour every single time, exactly the way we were intending for people to enjoy it,” she says. “It enables consumers to take wine places where wine traditionally cannot go.”
Gallo hopes that the rest of the industry is taking note. “I hope that we can inspire others to make the category accessible,” says Gallo. “We know what consumers are asking for, and as an industry, we just have to deliver it. We really hope that folks are inspired by the Barefoot story.”
After 30 years at the helm, Wall isn’t planning on going anywhere. “As long as I am continuing to wake up and be inspired every single day, I want to continue to do what I think is my mission: to make wines for people to enjoy with our family and friends every day and on special occasions, and to make sure they can afford to do so. I love it. I have had a very exciting career, but there’s no way I could have predicted where this would have gone. I don’t think anybody could have.”
26th Annual Wine Star Awards
Monday, January 26, 2026
The Glasshouse, New York City
Please join us in celebrating and congratulating the 2025 Wine Star Award winners at the annual black-tie gala in January. Register for tickets and tables HERE.
For event inquiries, please contact Ebony Hurwitz at ehurwitz@wineenthusiast.com
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