What’s this Stanislaus County winery’s relationship with Death Row Records?

Some public notices last month raised questions in disclosing that Bronco Wine Co. in Stanislaus County is doing business as Death Row Records.

Bronco has been known for wine production throughout its 50-year history. So it’s a mystery why the fictitious business name notices in March connected Bronco with the legendary music label that featured hip-hop stars Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

People are pretty serious about wine today, but Bronco’s association with the music label is on the more jocular side of the wine business.

Snoop Dogg, whose first album was released in Death Row’s glory days in 1993, acquired what remained of Death Row Records last year. According to an article in Variety, the music label went into bankruptcy protection in 2006 and had several owners in subsequent years.

Snoop worked with Treasury Americas to release a Death Row Records limited edition wine in October. The red wine in dark bottles bearing the Death Row label sold online for $24.99 a bottle.

A spokesperson for Treasury Americas said Bronco is involved with additional plans for the Death Row wine.

“Death Row Records Wine sold out its limited production in February and fans are loving it,” Treasury spokesperson Ellie Farrell wrote in an April 20 email. “The brand has some exciting things coming up later this year and we are working with Bronco on bottling.”

Daniel Leonard, president and chief executive officer of Bronco, said Thursday the public notice was filed on behalf of a customer. Bronco has a contract to bottle the wine and has no other relationship with Death Row Records, he said.

No further details were released on what’s next for Death Row Records wine.

Snoop is a partner-in-wine with Treasury’s parent company, based in Australia. His Cali Red Blend is featured under the 19 Crimes brand of Treasury Wine Estates, a global leader in brand marketing and wine sales. Martha Stewart joined the brand last year with a California chardonnay that sold well, according to a Treasury Estates financial statement in February.

The 19 Crimes brand pays tribute to British rogues who were sent on ships to colonize the continent between 1788 and 1868. Customers can read about the 19 misdeeds, 18 of them printed on collectible corks, that could get a person banished to Australia, things like “clandestine marriage,” “stealing fish from a pond,” “counterfeiting a copper coin” and “impersonating an Egyptian.”

Bronco has often been in the top 10 of wine production in the United States. The Ceres winery received Stanislaus County approval in 2017 for expansion of warehouses and other facilities and was approved for another expansion in 2021.