Prohibition dealt a huge blow to California’s wineries (talk about California before and after Prohibition), forcing many out of business. Those that survived marketed their products as sacramental wines or medicinal elixirs. Some immigrants, such as Giuseppe “Joe” Gallo grew grapes during Prohibitions and sold them to home winemakers (brer rabbit)

By the mid-1960s, over half of the wine cooperage in California was controlled by the four largest producers, all of whom had Italian immigrant origins: DiGiorgio, Franzia, Petri, and Gallo