/PRNewswire/ - E. & J. Gallo Winery (Gallo) announced today that it has purchased Germain-Robin, California's first luxury brandy.

In 1981, Ansley J. Coale Jr. had a chance encounter along Highway 101 in Northern California with Hubert Germain-Robin of the Jules Robinfamily, Cognac producers since 1782. Hubert's desire at that time was to create a small distillery using traditional craft-method distillation techniques. In 1982, he and Ansley established Germain-Robin. The two men began making brandies from premium California wine grapes. By the late 1990s, when Germain-Robin's cellar had matured, their brandies gained attention as some of the world's finest spirits recognized for their elegant, complex and distinct taste.

Ansley Coale and Hubert Germain-Robin were pioneers in the creation of critically-acclaimed world class California brandies, as well as innovatively blending Cognac traditions and techniques with California winemaking and premium grape varieties.

Gallo's acquisition includes the Germain-Robin brand, the inventory of aged and aging brandies and all finished goods. These unique and irreplaceable aged inventories include brandy lots that are over 30 years old, crafted from a broad range of traditional Cognac and Armagnac grape varieties, as well as non-traditional varietals such as Pinot Noir and Zinfandel.