after a winery above Oakdale that closed during Prohibition. Later, the US market began to move away from cheap wines. Ernest and Julio were the first to introduce brand management and modern merchandising to the wine industry, and led the way in bringing new products to store shelves. They were first in breakthrough quality initiatives such as long-term grower contracts for varietal grapes and grape research programs. They were also first to establish a truly significant foreign sales and marketing force to export California wines overseas. They pioneered wine advertising on television and launched many wine advertising campaigns. (One of these helped to popularize "Hymne", composed and performed by Vangelis, by featuring it as background music in some of its television commercials.) The company's 1960s ads were focused on associating their US-made wines with Europe's fine wine regions. In 1983, for the first time, the company put a vintage date on one of its wines, the 1978 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon. During the 1980s and 1990s, E & J Gallo bought wine labels from Europe and Australia. By 1993, E & J Gallo was the country's largest winery, with a 25% share of the American wine market. Julio Gallo died in a car accident on 2 May 1993. Ernest died in 2007, and his son Joe Gallo took over the company as CEO. In 2002 E & J Gallo purchased the Louis M. Martini Winery, giving the company its first Napa Valley location. On September 14, 2007, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced a partnership with E & J Gallo Winery to produce a brand of wine labelled "Martha Stewart Vintage". In 2011, E & J Gallo sold Hornsby's hard cider to the C&C Group for an undisclosed amount and partnered with Boisset Collection to purchase the Mondavi estate. In 2017, E & J Gallo Winery bought the Napa Valley Stagecoach vineyard. In April 2019, Constellation Brands Inc. announced a deal to sell wine brands, including Clos du Bois and Mark West, to E & J Gallo Winery for $1.7 billion. The deal was later amended, twice, to exclude sparkling wine brands Cook's California 'Champagne' and J. Roget American 'Champagne' (both retained by Constellation for four years post final agreement), Paul Masson Brandy which was divested to Sazerac Company Inc., Sheffield Cellars and Fairbanks divested to Precept Brands LLC, and its High Color Concentrates division was divested to Vie-Del Company. for an