GALLO Acquires Whiny Baby, Wine Brand Aimed at Gen Z
GALLO has snapped up another California wine brand — one specifically marketed to Gen Z drinkers of legal age. On Tuesday, the news dropped that Whiny Baby had officially joined the conglomerate’s portfolio, following a string of recent acquisitions including Massican and Rombauer.
The acquisition was announced on GALLO’s Instagram and by Whiny Baby founder Jess Druey on LinkedIn. In the post, Druey shared that she will continue in her role as founder & head of Whiny baby, and will also take on a new venture consulting on emergency consumer innovation in-house at GALLO. As a part of the position, she will be responsible for “innovating across their portfolio while reimagining Whiny Baby with the same mission: welcoming the next generation into wine.”
Druey was inspired to start Whiny Baby in 2020 while perusing the wine aisle at a grocery store before a first date. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of options, she found herself confused and intimated, despite having an interest and passion for wine as a medium for connection. Druey wasn’t able to find a brand that resonated with her and her life experiences, so she created one. Knowing she wanted to market to younger drinkers of legal drinking age, Druey called her brand Whiny Baby to reclaim the term often used to describe members of Gen Z.
Whiny Baby officially rolled out in California in 2022 with three bottlings: Obsessed Red Blend, Unwind White Blend, and OMG!?! Fizzy Rosé. Each bottle arrives with a cap revealing a conversation starting prompt, and also has a space to note the location, date, and memories of drinking the bottle on a peel-and-stick back label to encourage connecting with others.
In 2023, Whiny Baby established a joint venture with the McBride Sisters Wine Company that drastically expanded the Gen Z brand’s reach. The partnership between Druey, Robin McBride, and Andréa McBride John formalized the McBride Sisters Wine Company’s production and distribution of Whiny Baby wines and took distribution national through direct-to-consumer sales.
The venture also expanded the number of on-shelf placements for the brand, entering Whiny Baby into 39 states. It’s likely the GALLO acquisition will increase the brand’s distribution capacity even further. As Druey explained on the “Business of Drinks” podcast in January, Whiny Baby sold 6,000 cases in 2024, and forecasted double that number in 2025.
“This is more than an acquisition — it’s proof to every young entrepreneur that you don’t need a fancy degree or millions in funding,” Druey wrote in her LinkedIn post. “Sometimes your greatest asset is what you don’t know, because it lets you reimagine the rules. Persistence, authenticity, strategy, creativity, collaboration, faith, community — and yes, a little founder delusion — can change an industry.”
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