ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, April 5, 1997                TAG: 9704070059
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: A-5  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO
SOURCE: MARK EVANS ASSOCIATED PRESS 

JURY RULES IN GALLO'S FAVOR IN LABEL DISPUTE KENDALL-JACKSON CHARGED GALLO HAD IMITATED HIS LABEL TO CONFUSE SHOPPERS

The jury found that Gallo's Turning Leaf wine did not duplicate the look of Kendall-Jackson Winery's Vintner's Reserve brand.

After staring at what looked like a banquet table of chardonnay, a federal jury Friday rejected a $30 million lawsuit accusing E&J Gallo of copying a rival winery's autumn-leaf label.

The jury found that Gallo, in marketing its Turning Leaf wine, did not deliberately duplicate the look of Kendall-Jackson Winery's Vintner's Reserve brand to fool shoppers.

The labels on both bottles are white and depict a grape leaf in a mixture of autumn colors - oranges, yellows, reds and greens.

At one point, the collection of bottles introduced as evidence was so big that jurors had trouble seeing each other across the table, said one of them, Debby Stephenson.

But a review of the bottles proved one thing: ``There are a lot of leaves out there. The leaves are grape leaves. Wine comes from grapes. So using a grape leaf is not unique,'' she said.

Gallo, a $1 billion-a-year company, is the largest winery in the world. Kendall-Jackson is a mid-size winery that grew rapidly in the early 1990s.

A lawyer for Gallo, Joe Cotchett, said the jury vindicated his belief that the lawsuit was a publicity stunt by Kendall-Jackson to sell more wine.

``That's a foolish thought,'' responded Kendall-Jackson owner Jess Jackson. ``It took millions of dollars to try this suit.''

Jackson said he will appeal.

The Santa Rosa-based winery sued last year, claiming market share for its top-selling Vintner's Reserve brand plummeted after Turning Leaf was introduced in 1995.

Kendall-Jackson charged that Gallo's marketing experts studied its wine for several months, then designed a cheaper product that would confuse shoppers. The winery said that Gallo deliberately kept its name off the Turning Leaf brand and also copied the Vintner's Reserve flanged bottle lip.

The case might have won fans for both wines. Mike Willis, the jury foreman, said he wasn't a wine drinker. But after the three-week trial, he said, ``I'll probably go out and buy one of each.''

LENGTH: Medium:   53 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  ASSOCIATED PRESS. Bottles of E&J Gallo's Turning Leaf 
          brand chardonnay wine and Kendall-Jackson's chardonnay were studied 
          by the jury. color.