E&J Gallo has halted winemaking and tasting room operations at the Clos du Bois winery it purchased from Constellation Brands and has laid off over 30 workers at the Geyserville facility.
Employees were told that sales plunged to $1.8 million from $4.5 million. Lon Gallagher, director of trade, media and community relations, said “market dynamics over the last two years” have changed. “We are transitioning the bulk of our production from the Clos du Bois winery to our other wineries in Sonoma County,” Gallagher wrote. “We will maintain some operations at Clos du Bois moving forward, but the current staffing levels are not needed for future production.”
Kevin McDonald, a Clos du Bois senior laboratory technician, told the Press-Democrat the winery didn’t have any wine in the cellar because the vineyards the winery contracted with hadn’t delivered any grapes to the facility for some time. He speculated that might be because of smoke taint.
Laid-off employees are being allowed to apply for other Gallo positions as well as being given support through a number of employment services.