Robert Mondavi Passes Away at 94

Food & Beverage Close-Up, May 19, 2008

FOOD AND BEVERAGE CLOSE-UP-19 May 2008-Robert Mondavi Passes Away at 94(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com

Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley, the founder of the modern U.S. fine wine industry and a symbol of American wine and food, died at age 94.

The Mondavi family stated that the legendary vintner died peacefully at his home in Napa Valley.

Robert Mondavi changed the landscape of the US wine industry when he founded his eponymous winery in 1966, inspired by his belief that he could produce world-class wines in Napa Valley. Since that time, the Robert Mondavi Winery has become known as one of the world's leading producers and marketers of fine wine, firmly establishing America's rightful place on the world wine stage.

Born in Virginia, Minnesota, to parents who emigrated from Sassoferrato in the Marche region of Italy, Robert was greatly influenced by Old World traditions of the pleasures of wine and food. The family moved to Lodi, California, during Prohibition and he attended public schools there.

A 1936 graduate of Stanford with a degree in economics and business administration, Robert understood that marketing was as critical as winemaking expertise in achieving success in the wine industry. He joined his father at Sunnyhill Winery in St. Helena, a bulk wine producer. After convincing his father to purchase the Charles Krug Winery there, he upgraded the technology, determined to raise quality -- a commitment which never faltered. He began to offer public tours and tastings in the 1950s, something unheard of in Napa Valley, and not even done in the established wineries of France.

In 1966, at age 53, he established the Robert Mondavi Winery, the first major winery built in Napa Valley since the 1933 Repeal of Prohibition. Robert hired architectural designer Cliff May for his fledgling winery, which he intended as an enduring landmark to California history, reflecting this in its iconic, mission-style architecture. Using an architect was already enough to raise the eyebrows of locals, but to their amazement, Robert also included public spaces for education and entertainment, which completely bewildered his neighbors.

At his winery, Robert pioneered many fine winemaking techniques in California, including cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks and the use of French oak barrels. As a marketing leader, he initiated blind tastings of Napa Valley wines with other world-class wines, allowing consumers and the trade to evaluate wine quality and value. By the l970s, Robert Mondavi wines were recognized for their quality internationally, and California's fine wine industry benefited from Robert's pioneering work in the export market.

Never one to rest on his laurels, in l979, Robert joined forces with Baron Philippe de Rothschild, creating the Opus One Winery in Oakville. An immediate international success, Opus One created a world sales record for California with a US$24,000 case price at the first Napa Valley Wine Auction. He and his wife, Margrit, were among the founding members of that auction, which is now recognized as the major wine auction in the U.S.

Firmly committed to the everyday enjoyment of wine and food, Robert wanted to see a bottle of wine on every American table. To that end, in 1979 Robert bought a winemaking cooperative that he named Woodbridge, after a nearby town. Innovations at Woodbridge included the first value-priced US wines with barrel aging; traditional cork finishing; a gentle, direct-to-press method for white wines; the first US premium varietal wines with vintage dating; and the first winery to operate Quality Enhancement Teams with a "small lot" program, through which grapes are kept individual vineyard lots during fermentation.

During the late l980s, Robert launched the Mission Program to counteract anti-alcohol campaigns that were gathering force around the world. The Mission educated media, trade and consumers about the cultural and health benefits of moderate wine consumption. This program was the stimulus for CBS' "60 Minutes" program on wine and health, which changed America's view of wine.

In recent years, Robert was a major benefactor of cultural and educational institutions. Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, a world-class pioneering cultural center, opened in 2001. With a history of extraordinary contributions to California's wine industry, Robert and his wife made a substantial personal gift in 2001 to the University of California, Davis to establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science and to name the campus' new Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 2002. He also made significant gifts to the Oxbow School and the Cantor Center of the Arts at Stanford University.

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