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The Barca Family winemaker and marketer history started over 2250 years
ago, 250 years before Christ, in the nation of Cartage, where Hannibal
Barca rode elephants with his army from Cartage through Spain and over
the Alps Mountains into Italy, fighting in Rome and dying in Sicily.
Hannibal Barca Family forefathers, fathers, and brothers left a legacy
known as the Punic Wars with the creation of several new cities in the
Old World, one being Barcelona, Spain, which was named for the Barca
Family. Hannibal Barca was a top war general, and also a winemaker and
marketer, selling the fine wines in Cartage, Spain, France, Greece, and
Italy, as well as several other countries he touched in Europe. The
Barca Family continually kept making and selling wine in all these
European countries since that time, and still do today.
When Guiseppe Barca came to California in 1845 and started planting the
Mission grapes and making and selling wine in California during the
time the U.S. Government took over the territory of the new state of
California, the grape and wine market started to flourish. The
legendary priest, Father Junipero Serra, came to California through
Mexico and formed many missions throughout the state, from San Diego,
Los Angeles, Carmel, San Francisco, to Sonoma. The Italian immigrant
winemakers and vineyard owners are a whole story in California history
itself, with Secundo Guasti becoming the largest winemaker and vineyard
owner in the state of California. Guasti started several varieties of
grapes and wine which he imported from Italy. These Italian varieties,
such as Zinfandel, Muscat, and the Mission grapes, as well as many
other varieties, were brought to the new state of California by the
Italian immigrants in the 1800's.
Secundo Guasti became the largest winemaker and marketer in 1900. He
even had rail tract wagons going through all his vineyards, bringing
the grapes by rail in small box cars to the winery for crushing and
processing into wine. The town of Guasti, near Los Angeles, bears his
name and history where all his wineries and vineyards of over 5,000
acres were located. The Barca Family of Italy were distantly related to
Guasti, and maintained their family relationship.
The Barca Family forefathers were instrumental in helping the great
Italian families of Andrea Sbarboro, who founded the Italian Swiss
Colony of Asti, California in 1881, and the Petri Family, who became
great winemakers and cigar makers of California in the early 1900's,
build their wine empires in the early California wine history. George
Gino Barca, aka Gino Barca (the son of
Joseph Barca, an Italian immigrant winemaker and vineyard owner for
Italian Swiss Colony and Barca Winery & Vineyards,) joined Swiss
Colony in the 1950's, with his dear friend Peter Sargenti. Together,
they managed the major chain stores sales division for Louis Petri, the
creator of United Vintners, Inc. and Allied Grape Growers, U.S.A. Petri
and United Vintners purchased several California wineries and brands
and became one of the largest winery operations of California from the
Repeal era of 1932 through the 1960's. In the 1950's, United Vintners
purchased the small wineries of Lejon Vermouth & Champagnes of
Lodi, California and later in 1964, the Inglenook Winery &
Vineyards of Napa Valley, California, and out bid the Gallo Brothers in purchasing Itallian Swill Colony.
During the Prohibition, the U.S. Government issued special winemaking
permits for homemade winemaking, allowing 200 gallons per year for
their own consumption. Much income was made by all shippers of grapes
throughout the United States. This grape shipping business kept most of
the wine growers in business during the Prohibition era.
The George Gino Barca (aka Gino Barca) story reverts back to the 1950's
where at the age of 16 years, Gino took over the Barca Winery &
Vineyards ownership with his beloved mother, Annie Barca, who lived to
be 100 years old. Gino's father, Joseph "Guiseppe" Barca, became ill
and died at the early age of 57 on Easter Day in 1950. Joseph Barca and
forefathers with Hannibal Barca since 250 B.C. became a major force
among the international wineries & vineyards and brands owners in
Europe and in the Mexican colony of California, and later in 1852 when
California achieved statehood.
Gino Barca, along with his friend, Peter Sargenti, developed Italian
Swiss Colony, Lejon Vermouth & Champagnes, Inglenook Brands, and
many other brands throughout the United States and abroad. In all of
this California wine history, George Gino Barca, the great wine
marketer at his early and old age now, cannot ever forget the great
history of California of our great Italian forefathers, who were the
people who developed California as they are today. We cannot forget the
struggle, worries, and hardship of our forefathers and their offspring,
including the first, second, and third generations of our Italian
forefathers who came to California and America with nothing and worked,
struggled, and saved a little money so they could purchase the land for
vineyards and wineries. Then Prohibition struck! A silly little church
law prohibited the making of wines, and became known as the Great
Prohibition Era of 1919 through 1932, which was later repealed by
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
George Gino Barca and Peter Sargenti, two of the greatest wine sales
management teams, pushed all of the United Vintners, Inc. wine products
on the shelves of the great supermarket chains of its day, starting in
the early 1960's with Gallo Winery of big increases of dry wines and
what we called 'soda wines,' such as Pink Chablis, Annie Springs,
Hearty Burgundy, Carlo Rossi Red Mountain Spanada, Ripple, Boones Farms
Wines, Bali Hai, Vin Rose, Rhines Wines, Chianti, along with sherries
and other sweet wines that were popular during the 1950's-1960's for
cooking wine.
But it was George Gino Barca and Peter Sargenti, the top corporate
sales management for United Vintners, Inc., working day and night with
a long line of wholesale distributors throughout America that
distributed United Vintners products, that took the 2nd spot position
next to Gallo during these times.
In 1969, United Vintners sold its corporation, with all nine wineries,
several thousand acres of vineyards, along with its brands, and
second-place business next to Gallo. This sales transaction was
purchased by Heublein, Inc., and the total asset of wine inventory was
sold for the price of $33,000,000 in. 1973 Barca and Sargenti then
became top consultants with Heublein, Inc. and watched these businesses
and brands develop and grow. At the same era and time, George Gino
Barca developed and retained all the Barca Family winery and vineyard
brands, labels, both U.S.A. and international, and became one of the
largest wineries & vineyards, brands, labels, and trademark holders
and ownerships in the world. The past 35 years up to the present time,
George Gino Barca has become the largest trademark holder in the world
and international wine, beverages, and foods products from the U.S.A.
to Italy. Plans are for more transactions, acquisitions, and purchases
in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. The legacy of George Gino Barca is
from the fashion tradition of early day California to Prohibition, to
the present times, and to the early marketers of California wines,
which are one of the largest in the world, such as the great Gallo
Brothers, Mondavi, Delcato, Sutter Home, Louis Petri, Roma, and our
beloved United Vintners and Italian Swiss Colony. Many others also
struggled and suffered to bring the State of California winemakers to
what they are today.
Somehow even with all the struggles with the Prohibition, our
forefathers kept working hard to see that California grapes and wines
would be at the top of the market some day throughout the world.
California, led by the Gallo Bros., became the largest producer of
wines with the onset of new television ads and great sales programs. It
became the largest winery in the world starting in the late 1950's and
1960's while the other winemakers were just getting started after a
long drought with vine disease. Many of the old hard working winemakers
started to die and some of their children took over to create a whole
new world of marketing and education. Most large California family
operations are now run by their children and grandchildren. California
wines are again becoming a worldwide marketer of great vintage wines by
their forefathers. God bless our forefathers!
If you are starting a winery or want wine advice on how to start a wine
business, or any privately held business, call me at 1 916-786-0770 for
advice on helping you start a successful winery business. I see great
international wine sales for California and great quality wines for all
the international market for your future business objectives.
For more info on Barca Wine History in
the USA & Italy, Click
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