The company's origins date back to 1922, when Louis Michael Martini (1887-1974), an Italian born in Genoa, founded his first winery in Pleasanton, California. He had already made wine with his father and worked as a consultant for wineries. During Prohibition, which began shortly afterwards, he mainly produced mass wine. After the end in 1933, he founded a new winery at the current location in St. Helena in California's Napa Valley. In 1938, the old Goldstein Ranch was acquired near Sonoma and named "Monte Rosso Vineyards". From 1954, son Louis Peter Martini (1918-1998) took over the management, followed in 1977 by Michael Martini (born 1949) and his sister Carolyn Martini, the third generation. Michael Martini was also president of the Napa Valley Vintners Association and the American Society of Enology & Viticulture. In 2002, the company was taken over by the beverage multinational Gallo. The vineyards cover 320 hectares in Napa and Sonoma County. They are planted with the red wine varieties Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay Noir, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel, as well as the white wine varieties Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Folle Blanche, Gewürztraminer and Riesling. The most important quality variety is Cabernet Sauvignon, which is also used to make the best wines (Sonoma Valley Monte Rosso, Alexander Valley, Napa Valley and Sonoma County).
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