Wine, etc.: Wine makers take a step up

Producers of inexpensive wines struggle to keep their prices down and their quality up. But even that struggle pales in comparison to the day they try to convince consumers that they can also make expensive reserve wines.

Stuck with the image of being a cheap winemaker, the Gallo brothers introduced some reserve wines nearly a decade ago just to prove to the wine world that they could make as good a wine as anyone. The wines were very good, but consumers just wouldn't fork over $50-plus for a bottle of Gallo - especially those accustomed to spending $10 for a jug of hearty burgundy. Gallo still sells a Gallo of Sonoma Estate red...