Mushrooms, Bees and Pleasure Take the Stage at Robert Mondavi Winery's Taste3 Conference

Business Wire, May 21, 2007

Next Conference Scheduled for July 17-19, 2008

OAKVILLE, Calif. -- Sustainability, transformation and the power of individual action are just a few of the intriguing themes that emerged at Robert Mondavi Winery's riveting TASTE3 conference, which was held in Napa Valley May 6-8. The next conference is scheduled for July 17-19, 2008; a special discount offer for TASTE3 2008 is available until July 31, 2007.

For a second year, Robert Mondavi Winery brought together the best and brightest at Taste3, pulling speakers and attendees from a wide range of disciplines to explore the intersection of ideas in wine, food and the arts. Conference attendees made up an impressive roster of national media, vintners, sommeliers, chefs, CEOs, founders, presidents and directors. "I was dazzled and surprised by the avalanche of information by our speakers from fungi and bees, to Bali and Afghanistan," said Margrit Mondavi, the winery's vice president of cultural affairs. "It was a sparkling two days."

Sustainability: Speakers shared ideas on how to mitigate the effects of human activity on the environment, including mycologist Paul Stamets on cleaning diesel spills and eliminating pesticides with mushrooms; Dennis vanEngelsdorp on the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder afflicting world-wide bee populations; and Big Tree Farms' Ben Ripple sharing his commitment to protecting biodiversity by supporting traditional farming in Indonesia.

Transformation. Several presenters explored the boundaries of transformation, from personal metamorphosis to the rearranging of molecules: Chef Jeff Henderson related his journey from crack cocaine-dealing street kid, through federal prison, to becoming the first African-American to hold the executive chef position at Cafe Bellagio in Las Vegas; Dave Arnold, director of technology at the French Culinary Institute, whirled through his experiments in carbonating gin to create a fizzier gin and tonic; and twenty-two-year-old whiz kid Ben Roche, pastry chef at Moto Restaurant in Chicago, described Moto's mission to "transmogrify" food.

The power of individual responsibility. Ideas from the simple to the awe-inspiring gave an unspoken call to action through individual involvement: Blair Randall described the Victory Gardens 07 project as a way to gain independence from an unsustainable food system and reduce food miles; Kirk Azevedo related how he felt morally obligated to question what he felt was a lack of information and testing of genetically engineered organisms; Blogger Anil Dash challenged conference attendees to join the online community; and University of Palermo professor Maurizio Cellura suggested that consumers should demand that products carry an Environmental Product Label & Declaration to help them understand the effect of what we consume.

More highlights:

* Pharmaceutical scientist Georges Halpern declared "Guilt makes you sick," and discussed how pleasurable things--wine, chocolate, music, sex--actually make you healthier.

* Medical researcher Roger Corder's studies indicate that it is the level of procyanidins, not resveratrol, that is most important to the health benefits of red wine.

* Eleanor Coppola showed a behind-the-scenes look at bringing 18th century dishes to life for the sumptuous feasts of the movie, Marie Antoinette.

* Olivia Wu suggested that to reach China's 1.3 billion people who drink wine, producers and marketers need a better understanding of Chinese culture and cuisine.

* Maverick winemaker Randall Grahm took the case for terroir to the ultimate with a project he is dedicating the rest of his life to: growing grapevines from seed.

* Enologix founder Leo McCloskey raised eyebrows with his controversial suggestion that analysis of wine ratings be used to compile an appellation-style ranking of Napa Valley's AVAs.

* Professor Joseph Marcy of Virginia Tech described the challenge of planning for how to feed astronauts on a nearly three-year-long mission to Mars.

* Attendees enjoyed sumptuous winery dinners at Gargiulo Vineyards, Grgich Hills Estate, Hall Wines, Mumm Napa, Quintessa, Regusci Winery, Rubicon Estate, and Staglin Family Vineyard.

For more highlights, video presentations and images from TASTE32007, visit www.taste3.com

TASTE3will stir things up again on July 17-19, 2008 in Napa Valley. Special discount offer: until July 31, conference passes are available at a two-for one price that is non-refundable. To request an invitation, visit www.taste3.com or call (707) 967-3997.