E. & J. Gallo no longer runs that advertising jingle for Thunderbird, a throat-cauterizing brew which — along with EJG’s Night Train — is popular among dumpster divers. Regardless, that doesn’t mean their lawyers won’t strike like lightning at anybody who dares use the word “thunder.”

Gallo is known for throwing its legions of lawyers at anyone with any hint of any connection to anything it thinks belongs to it — a globally broad category.

In the past, Gallo has sued nail polish makers, shoe retailers and every other manner of business that dares to use the generic and commonly used Italian word for rooster (See: More Rooster Lawsuits For Gallo)

In the end, most victims cave simply because fighting even a frivolous legal threat is simply not worth the money or effort.

The latest victim is Paso Robles’ Twilight Cellars, known until October 15, 2010 as Thunderbolt Winery.

Twilight said it was ” forced by a globally influential third party to change its name because the name Thunderbolt conflicted with one of their old brands.”

No one associated with the winery would comment on the name of the company that forced them to change the name. But a trademark search with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office found only one prominent winery with a “Thunder” trademark.

Twilight Cellars is located in the original Paso Robles site of HMR (Hoffman Mountain Ranch) winery established by Dr. Stanley Hoffman in the early 1960’s. Current owners Richard and Aurora Gumerman produce 2,500 cases per year of Rhone and Bordeaux varietals .