If you have been to a backyard barbecue, a golf course, a music festival, or even just a Tuesday afternoon gathering in the last few years, you have almost certainly seen someone crack open a High Noon. The slim, fruit-flavored hard seltzer in the colorful can has gone from a newcomer in 2019 to the #1 selling spirits brand in the entire United States by volume — outselling both Tito’s Vodka and Jack Daniel’s in total cases moved. That is not a small achievement. That is one of the fastest rises in American beverage history.
But who actually owns High Noon? Despite all the rumors linking it to Barstool Sports or Dave Portnoy, the answer is much simpler — and much more interesting. High Noon is owned by one of the oldest, most powerful, and most secretive family empires in the American wine and spirits business.
What Is High Noon?
High Noon is a spirits-based hard seltzer made with real vodka, real fruit juice, sparkling water, and no added sugar. That last part is important. Most hard seltzers — like White Claw and Truly — are made with fermented malt or cane sugar, which technically makes them closer to beer. High Noon uses actual distilled corn vodka from the Midwest, which is why it is legally classified as a spirit and often sold in liquor stores rather than grocery stores in certain states.
High Noon became the top-selling spirit brand by volume in the United States as of 2023. Sales reached 21.4 million cases in 2023, representing a 30% increase from the previous year. This success positioned High Noon ahead of established competitors like Tito’s Vodka and Jack Daniel’s in the ready-to-drink category. High Noon’s dominance captures approximately 40% of the spirits-based seltzer market.
Standard High Noon cans contain 100 calories, zero added sugar, and are gluten-free. The brand has since expanded beyond its original vodka seltzer line into tequila seltzers, vodka lemonades, and — most recently — vodka iced teas, which launched in mid-2024 and immediately became a major hit.
Who Owns High Noon?
High Noon is 100% owned by GALLO, the Modesto, California-based wine and spirits company formerly known as E. & J. Gallo Winery. The brand operates under GALLO’s Spirit of Gallo subsidiary and has been wholly owned by the Gallo family since its launch in 2019. There are no outside investors or public shareholders.
That means no hedge funds, no venture capital, no Barstool Sports, no Dave Portnoy. Every can of High Noon sold anywhere in the world belongs entirely to one family — the Gallo family of Modesto, California — who have been making wine and spirits since 1933.
Who Owns High Noon — Ownership Table
| Owner / Party | Type | Stake | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| GALLO (Gallo Family) | Parent Company & 100% Owner | Complete ownership | Private family-owned company; headquartered in Modesto, California |
| Spirit of Gallo | Operating Subsidiary | Manages High Noon brand | GALLO’s spirits division; directly responsible for High Noon operations |
| Joseph E. Gallo | CEO & President of GALLO | Family owner | Third-generation Gallo family leader; grandson of co-founder Ernest Gallo |
| Britt West | EVP & GM of Spirit of Gallo | Key Brand Executive | Conceived and launched High Noon in 2019; the architect of the brand’s success |
| Ernest & Julio Gallo (Historical) | Co-Founders | Founded GALLO in 1933 | Started the company with less than $6,000 in borrowed capital after Prohibition |
| Public / External Investors | None | 0% | GALLO is private; no public stock, no outside investors |
The Origin of GALLO: From Prohibition to Global Empire
To understand who owns High Noon, you have to understand where GALLO came from — and that story starts at the very end of Prohibition.
Ernest and Julio Gallo founded E. & J. Gallo Winery in 1933, right after Prohibition ended, with less than $6,000 in borrowed capital. The two brothers from Modesto, California had no formal training in winemaking. They learned everything from a pamphlet they found at the local library. From that impossibly humble start, they built what eventually became the largest wine producer in the world.
For decades, GALLO was synonymous with affordable, widely available wine. But the family was always thinking ahead. GALLO’s first spirit was E&J Brandy in the 1970s, marking its first step beyond wine into distilled spirits. Over the following decades, GALLO quietly accumulated one of the most impressive brand portfolios in the American beverage industry — including Barefoot Wine, Apothic, New Amsterdam Vodka, Orin Swift, J Vineyards, and dozens more.
In February 2024, E. & J. Gallo Winery rebranded to simply GALLO to reflect its massive expansion beyond wines into spirits and cocktails — a rebrand that followed its acquisition of over 30 brands from Constellation Brands.
Today, GALLO employs over 7,000 people and sells products in 100+ countries, making it one of the most powerful private companies in the entire global beverage industry.
How High Noon Was Born
High Noon itself was conceived in late 2018 when Britt West, GALLO’s Chief Commercial Officer, was tasked with getting a hard seltzer product to market quickly to capture the booming category.
The strategic insight behind High Noon was simple but brilliant: while every other brand was rushing into the malt-based seltzer space, GALLO decided to use real vodka instead. Real spirits meant better taste, a cleaner ingredient list, and — crucially — a different legal classification that gave High Noon access to different retail channels. Most early seltzers were “flavored malt beverages” — essentially beer with fruit flavoring. High Noon used real vodka, distilled from Midwestern corn, making it a fundamentally different product.
High Noon launched in 2019 and the timing was almost perfect. The pandemic hit in 2020, outdoor socializing exploded, and canned drinks became the drink of choice at every backyard gathering, camping trip, and golf round across America. High Noon was positioned exactly right for that cultural moment.
By 2022 — just its third full year of business — High Noon had captured approximately 40% of the entire spirits-based hard seltzer category. By 2023, it had become the #1 selling spirit brand in the United States by volume, outselling Tito’s Vodka (12 million cases) and Jack Daniel’s (6.5 million cases) — both legacy brands with decades of history behind them.
GALLO’s Vertically Integrated Advantage
One of the main reasons High Noon grew so fast where other brands struggled is GALLO’s unique business structure. GALLO is a “vertically integrated” company. It owns its own glass manufacturing plants, distribution logistics, and marketing agencies, allowing High Noon to scale faster than independent startups ever could.
That means GALLO controls every step of the High Noon supply chain — from the glass in the can to the truck that delivers it to the liquor store to the marketing campaign that made it a cultural icon. That level of vertical control gives High Noon a cost advantage, a speed advantage, and a quality control advantage that competitors simply cannot match.
High Noon’s Cultural Domination
Part of what makes High Noon’s story so fascinating is that it became a cultural phenomenon, not just a beverage success.
Starting in 2020, High Noon became the “official drink” of Barstool Sports and was closely associated with Dave Portnoy — a partnership that gave it enormous visibility among younger, sports-focused consumers. This association is so strong that many people incorrectly assume Barstool or Portnoy own the brand. They do not. GALLO owns every bit of it.
In June 2023, Spirit of Gallo partnered with golf apparel brand TravisMathew to launch the High Noon x TravisMathew Apparel Collection — a line of limited-edition polos, hats, and tees — marketed specifically to golfers. And in 2024, High Noon became the official spirits-based hard seltzer of the PGA of America and the PGA Championship — a partnership that reflects its growing appeal among a broader, more affluent demographic.
On golf courses across America, High Noon now regularly outsells traditional light beer — a fact that would have been unimaginable just five years ago.
GALLO’s Latest Move: The Four Roses Acquisition
GALLO has not slowed down in 2026. In February 2026, GALLO acquired Four Roses Distillery for $775 million — adding one of Kentucky’s most beloved bourbon brands to its already massive portfolio.
This acquisition signals that GALLO is not content to just be the company behind High Noon. It is actively building a full-spectrum American spirits empire — from hard seltzers to premium bourbon — with the same patient, family-controlled strategy it has used since Ernest and Julio Gallo borrowed $6,000 and started making wine in 1933.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns High Noon hard seltzer?
High Noon is 100% owned by GALLO (formerly E. & J. Gallo Winery), a private, family-owned beverage company based in Modesto, California.
Q2. Is High Noon owned by Barstool Sports or Dave Portnoy?
No. GALLO owns High Noon entirely — Barstool Sports and Dave Portnoy are only marketing partners, not owners.
Q3. When was High Noon launched?
High Noon was launched in 2019 by GALLO’s Spirit of Gallo division, conceived by Britt West, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer at the time.
Q4. What makes High Noon different from White Claw?
High Noon uses real distilled corn vodka and real fruit juice, while White Claw is a malt-based beverage — making High Noon a true spirit, not a beer-like drink.
Q5. How many cases does High Noon sell per year?
High Noon sold 21.4 million cases in 2023 — a 30% increase from the previous year — making it the #1 spirits brand by volume in the United States.
Q6. Is GALLO a publicly traded company?
No. GALLO is entirely privately held and family-owned with no public stock and no outside investors.
Q7. Who is the CEO of GALLO in 2026?
Joseph E. Gallo, grandson of co-founder Ernest Gallo, serves as CEO and President of GALLO as of 2026.
Q8. What other brands does GALLO own besides High Noon?
GALLO owns over 100 brands including Barefoot Wine, New Amsterdam Vodka, Apothic, J Vineyards, Orin Swift, and — as of February 2026 — Four Roses Bourbon.
High Noon is 100% owned by GALLO — a private, family-owned company headquartered in Modesto, California, founded in 1933 by brothers Ernest and Julio Gallo. GALLO rebranded from its original name E. & J. Gallo Winery in February 2024. The High Noon brand operates specifically under GALLO’s Spirit of Gallo subsidiary, led by Joseph E. Gallo as CEO and Britt West as the Executive Vice President who originally conceived and launched the product in 2019.
There are no outside investors. No public shareholders. No Dave Portnoy. Just one family, one long-term vision, and the most successful new spirits brand in American history — a product that went from concept to #1 spirits brand in the country in just four years, selling over 21.4 million cases in 2023 alone.