From KCRW, I'm Evan Klyman and you're listening to good food.

Toebuck Chuck, love it or hate it, imbibed or abstained,

you probably at least know about the infamous bottle of wine.

Formally known as Charles Shaw and sold exclusively at Trader Joe's,

the wine generated quite the buzz, pun intended.

The man behind the label, Fred Franzia, championed the notion that wine need not cost more

than $10 a bottle, a philosophy that attracted some vocal critics.

He passed away last month and writer Esther Mobley joins us to discuss his life and legacy.

Hi, Esther, thank you for coming on the show.

Thanks for having me.

Fritt Franzi didn't just happen upon wine.

Tell us a little bit about where he was raised

and what his roots are in the industry.

Fred was born into what we might call

the first family of California wine, the Gallows.

So his uncle by marriage was Ernest Gallo, one of the founders of E and J Gallo Winery,

which is the country's largest wine company. He himself was born in Modesto where Gallo is also based. He grew up in the Central Valley and his own grandparents had started a wine company which Fred's parents then took over and that was the

Franzia Brothers winery.

In whose hands did the Franzia company end up?

So in 1973, the Franzia family sold their eponymous winery to Coca-Cola.

And it's since changed hands a couple of times but that's what we now know of as the

Franzia wine brand which familiarly comes in a bag and box format. So the Franzia family hasn't actually been connected with that

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