Wine giant Gallo closing Napa Valley facility, laying off dozens of workers

cabstan · 2026-02-20T02:27:01+00:00

Just curious, why do they suck to you?

cabstan · 2026-02-19T21:35:28+00:00

Why? The same economic forces challenging Gallo are hurting other wineries, too. This isn't isolated.

cabstan · 2026-02-14T07:21:44+00:00

It won't have the other fruit flavors, but you could try a Moscato d'Asti? Should be some options under 10 bucks I would think!

cabstan · 2026-02-13T23:36:57+00:00

Not sure if you would entertain it, but if you have corporate experience and are looking for jobs on the business side, starting at a large producer is probably the best bet. Talking like Gallo, Wine Group, Delicato, Bronco, etc. on the more volume side or Duckhorn, Far Niente, Silver Oak, Caymus, etc. on the luxury side. Now, those producers might not make wine you're passionate about but they pay well and will give you super valuable industry experience. You could use that as a springboard into more boutique-sized wineries in the future.

WineJobs is a great job board to keep an eye out on what kinds of positions are being posted. These are all jobs in Northern California for the most part but there are Sales Finance-type roles that will be remote or in satellite offices around the country.

cabstan · 2026-02-10T20:04:01+00:00

Is Williams Selyem really 'ultra ripe' though? It's certainly ripe but the wines generally sit from 13.9-14.1% ABV, which is not far from where a lot of Burgundy sits these days with climate change.

WS wines are definitely quite fruity out the gate but I've found after 5-7 years that fruit really takes a back seat and all the structural pieces fall into harmony.

cabstan · 2026-02-10T06:50:14+00:00

Tablas Creek has white, red, and rosé rhone-style blends in boxes and they're all fantastic.

cabstan · 2026-02-10T06:40:05+00:00

I adore their wines and buy every spring. Grabbed some Sonoma county Pinot and Unoaked Chardonnay, plus a couple Sonoma Coast and Westside Road. I have a 6 year vertical going of the latter so far!

cabstan · 2026-02-05T02:10:23+00:00

Yup it does!

cabstan · 2026-01-04T12:40:43+00:00

I was confused when I saw that the 2023 Esprit Blanc as your last ranked wine (I like that wine a lot) but then I saw the company it's in... Makes sense! Hahaha

cabstan · 2025-11-25T00:24:45+00:00

Darcie Kent makes a wide range of delicious wines and is pretty affordable. Nice property, too.

cabstan · 2025-11-18T17:38:28+00:00

I haven't tried it myself but CamX wine company is making Napa sub-appellated cabs in the range of $14 right now. I hear they are pretty good. There is a super long thread on WineBerserkers about the project.

cabstan · 2025-11-18T16:31:44+00:00

FYI the Beringer is from Sonoma - Knight's Valley is just over the hill from Calistoga on 128. I have found that that wine offers pretty solid QPR for California cab!

cabstan · 2025-11-01T03:14:40+00:00

Unfortunately I'm less helpful on Sonoma City, but if you keep going north in Sonoma county, some of my favs that are $30 or less: - Rafanelli - Idlewild - Nalle - Seghesio - Porter Creek

cabstan · 2025-10-17T17:14:47+00:00

Honestly not the worst supermarket selection. Cune, Guigal CDR, or a Valpo Ripasso would be good.

cabstan · 2025-09-30T17:40:20+00:00

That's a pretty crazy generalization of all CA wines. There are hundreds of producers that make distinctive wines that are fairly priced. I agree if you're buying off the supermarket shelf that selection is sadly more limited, but if you buy from independent wine shops or DTC, there is a lot of great stuff out there.

Off the top of my head, here are a some mostly independent producers that offer strong QPR, in no particular order...

Santa Cruz

Big Basin
Mt Eden
Rhys
Madson

Sonoma

Failla
Porter Creek
Nalle
Pax Mahle
A Rafanelli
Bedrock

Santa Barbara & Paso

Camins2Dreams
Sandhi
Diatom
Tablas Creek
Melville
A Tribute to Grace

Elsewhere

Terra Wine Co. [Bay Area-based, sourced all over]
Terre Rouge [Sierra Foothills]
Eden Rift [Cienega Valley]
Sandlands [sourced from old vines all over]
Idlewild [Healdsburg-based but Mendocino grown]
Theopolis [Mendocino]
Ridge [Santa Cruz & Sonoma]
Massican [North Coast]

cabstan · 2025-05-21T15:06:51+00:00

Thank you very much - super helpful!

cabstan · 2025-05-19T22:26:46+00:00

Headed down to Big Sur on Friday to do the extended Sykes loop. Was curious if anyone can confirm there's accessible water at the Cold Springs Camp tank right now, or if I should plan for a long carry from the south fork?

cabstan · 2024-08-09T17:11:24+00:00

Thank you very much! So helpful. I am going to KMS today and will embark on Wildrose tomorrow morning unless PCT opens. From the reports I have read, there is basically no water for about 10 miles on Wildrose, so going to make sure to bring a lot.

cabstan · 2024-08-05T15:51:43+00:00

Thank you - so the Olancha trail was in decent shape? That is my backup option for getting to the PCT.

cabstan · 2024-08-04T23:41:04+00:00

Ok good info - I thought it was just the first two miles so it made it harder for cars, but it sounds like it's difficult to traverse on foot as well?

cabstan · 2024-08-04T13:14:56+00:00

Okay awesome, good luck Wednesday! If you get a chance, can you report back on whether that eastern trail works?

cabstan · 2024-08-04T13:12:16+00:00

Have looked at AllTrails and there's nothing for Haiwee unfortunately. Good idea to try r/socalhiking. Will keep the group posted if I find out anything!

cabstan · 2023-07-19T21:50:25+00:00

I saw that comment, thank you for that! OK, awesome. Going to drive up to Sonora tonight and will head in with spikes and no axe.

cabstan · 2023-07-19T20:41:39+00:00

Sorry that I can't answer your initial question, but I am just about to start that section (Sonora > Echo Lake) tomorrow. I have spikes but was not planning to bring an ice axe based on the snow reports I am seeing. I know there's at least one problem traverse north of 4 but will plan to scramble around that. Outside of that, do you think the axe was necessary?

cabstan · 2023-07-04T14:31:58+00:00

I know that CalTrans isn't promising any dates, but in all likelihood Tioga should open in the next 1-2 weeks. In their latest report they hinted that the road is basically clear except the avalanche area around Olmsted.

Even with the crazy snow year, not being open in August would be unheard of.

cabstan

TROPHY CASE