American winemaker
Robert Mondavi
|
---|
Robert Mondavi and his wife Margrit
|
Born
| (
1913-06-18
)
June 18, 1913
|
---|
Died
| May 16, 2008
(2008-05-16)
(aged 94)
|
---|
Education
| Stanford University
|
---|
Occupations
| |
---|
Spouses
|
Marjorie Declusin
(
m.
1937;
div.
1979)
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Children
| 3
|
---|
Awards
| Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2002),
French Legion of Honour (2005)
California Hall of Fame (2005)
|
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Website
| robertmondaviwinery
.com
|
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Robert Gerald Mondavi
(June 18, 1913 ? May 16, 2008) was an American
winemaker
. His technical and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the
wines
of the
Napa Valley
in
California
. From an early period, Mondavi promoted labeling wines
varietally
rather than generically, which became the standard for
New World wines
. The Robert Mondavi Institute (RMI) for Wine and Food Science at the
University of California, Davis
opened in October 2008 in his honor.
[1]
Family history
[
edit
]
Robert Mondavi's parents, Cesare Mondavi and Rosa Grassi, emigrated from
Sassoferrato
[2]
in the
Marche
region of
Italy
and settled in
Hibbing
, Minnesota. Robert Gerald Mondavi was born in
Virginia, Minnesota
. From Minnesota the Mondavi family moved to
Lodi, California
, where he attended
Lodi High School
.
[3]
In Lodi, his father, Cesare, established a fruit packing business under the name C. Mondavi and Sons, packing and shipping grapes to the east coast primarily for home winemaking. Mondavi graduated from
Stanford University
in 1936
[4]
with a degree in economics and business administration.
In 1943, Mondavi joined his father and brother
Peter
after the family acquired the
Charles Krug
Winery located in
St. Helena, California
, from James Moffitt.
In 1965, Robert Mondavi left the family winery after a feud with his younger brother
Peter
over the business direction of the Krug Winery. Subsequently, Mondavi started his own winery in
Oakville, California
.
[5]
Part of Mondavi's original vineyard land included the
To Kalon
(a Greek term meaning "the beautiful") vineyard originally established by Napa Valley pioneer
H.W. Crabb
in 1868. The winery produced wine in the
California mission
style. Mondavi selected
Cliff May
to design the winery building, which opened in 1966 and is now considered an architectural icon in the Napa Valley,
[6]
with an expansive entryway arch and bell tower.
Family
[
edit
]
In 1937, Mondavi married his high school sweetheart, Marjorie Ellen (Declusin) Mondavi. Together, the couple had three children: Michael, Marcia, and Tim. In the late 1970s, their marriage ended in a divorce. In 1980, at the age of 67, he married
Margrit (Kellenberger) Biever Mondavi
, a Swiss-born, and multilingual woman who worked at the Robert Mondavi winery.
[7]
Wine history
[
edit
]
In 1968, Mondavi made a dry oak?aged
Sauvignon blanc
, an unpopular variety in California at the time, and labeled it "
Fume Blanc
".
Mondavi entered into a joint venture with
Baron Philippe de Rothschild
of
Chateau Mouton Rothschild
to create
Opus One Winery
, and since the 1990s has set up joint ventures with local partners in
Europe
,
South America
and
Australia
.
[8]
In the
Grand European Jury Wine Tasting of 1997
, the Robert Mondavi Chardonnay Reserve was ranked number one.
[
citation needed
]
In 2005, Robert Mondavi and his younger brother Peter made wine together for the first time after their feud. Using grapes from both family vineyards, they produced one barrel of cabernet blend, which was sold for $400,000 under the name "Ancora Una Volta" ("Once Again") at the 2005 Napa Valley Auction.
[9]
Legacy
[
edit
]
In 2001, Robert Mondavi donated $10 million to help with the building cost of the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts building at
UC Davis
.
[10]
In 2003, Mondavi expressed regret and criticized his sons for the business strategy that emphasized the inexpensive Mondavi lines, Coastal and Woodbridge, over the premium wines, allowing the company name to lose its association with fine wine it held in the past. He said, "We've got to get our image back, and that's going to take time."
[11]
In the 2004 documentary film
Mondovino
, the Mondavi family featured prominently, in close application to its theme of
globalization
.
On December 22, 2004,
Constellation Brands
acquired the Mondavi winery in a controversial takeover for nearly US$1.36 billion in cash and assumption of debt.
[12]
Following the sale of the company, Mondavi partnered with his younger son Tim Mondavi and daughter Marcia Mondavi to make a single wine from a single estate at the highest level.
Robert and Margrit were also founding supporters of the restoration of the 19th-century
Napa Valley Opera House
and the
Oxbow School
, a new art school in Napa that provides grants and instruction to art students in their junior year of high school.
Death
[
edit
]
Robert Mondavi died at his Yountville home on May 16, 2008, at the age of 94.
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
Published works
[
edit
]
- Modavi, Robert (1998).
Harvests of Joy: How the Good Life Became Great Business
. Mariner Books.
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
In 1985, Mondavi received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
.
[17]
Robert Mondavi was selected as the
Decanter
"Man of the Year" in 1989.
[14]
He was inducted into the Junior Achievement
U.S. Business Hall of Fame
in 1991.
[
citation needed
]
In 2000 he was awarded Doctor of Oenology, Honoris Causa, by the Board of Trustees of
Johnson & Wales University
.
In 2002, he received the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
.
[18]
In 2005, he received the
Legion of Honour
from the French government.
On December 5, 2007, California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
and First Lady
Maria Shriver
inducted Mondavi into the
California Hall of Fame
, located at
The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts
.
[19]
He was inducted into the
Culinary Institute of America
Vintner's Hall of Fame in 2007.
[20]
The election was based upon ballots from seventy wine journalists. The decision for their election of Mondavi is for contributions to the wine industry of California during his lifetime.
[
citation needed
]
Robert Mondavi was awarded the Presidential Gold Medal of the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs in December 2006 for his many contributions to the Society.
[
citation needed
]
See also
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science Opens"
.
University of California, Davis
. October 10, 2008.
- ^
Prial, Frank J. (May 16, 2008).
"Robert Mondavi, Napa Wine Champion, Dies at 94"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Writer, Marc LutzNews-Sentinel Staff (May 16, 2008).
"1913-2008 ? Robert Mondavi: A man of grace and vision"
.
Lodinews.com
. Retrieved
December 15,
2023
.
- ^
"Book Blurbs"
.
Stanford Magazine
. January 1, 1999
. Retrieved
March 2,
2024
.
- ^
Davis, Kip (September 15, 2011).
"Peter Mondavi leads Krug's 150th anniversary celebration"
.
Napa Valley Register
. Lee Enterprises, Inc
. Retrieved
September 15,
2011
.
- ^
"Architectural Wine-World Wonders"
.
Wine Enthusiast Magazine
. March 27, 2013
. Retrieved
September 3,
2019
.
- ^
Prial, Frank (May 17, 2008).
"Robert Mondavi, Napa Wine Champion, Dies at 94"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
May 20,
2014
.
- ^
Julien Lefour, Comment les cepages de tradition francaise deviennent des vins californiens ?, Communications, n°77, 2005, 16 p. (Edgar Morin Center ? EHESS/CNRS). Free downloading sur
http://www.persee.fr
- ^
Patricia Sullivan,
"Robert Mondavi 94; Noted Vintner Who Raised Qualities of American Wine"
,
Washington Post
, May 17, 2008, p. B5. Accessed 24 May 2008.
- ^
Lisa Lapin (September 19, 2001).
"$35 Million Robert and Margrit Mondavi Gift to Benefit Institute for Wine and Food Science and Center for the Performing Arts"
.
UC Davis
.
- ^
Frank J. Prial (July 2, 2003).
"With Head Held High, Mondavi, at 90, Faces a Storm"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Carol Emert (November 4, 2004).
"Legendary California wine company is sold"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
. Retrieved
November 13,
2007
.
- ^
Laube, James,
Wine Spectator
(May 17, 2008).
"Robert Mondavi Dies at Age of 94"
. Archived from
the original
on July 19, 2008
. Retrieved
May 16,
2008
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
a
b
Lechmere, Adam,
Decanter.com
(May 16, 2008).
"
'Colossus' Robert Mondavi dies"
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Hubler, Shawn (May 17, 2008).
"California wine came of age under him Vintner elevated state's wines"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
October 9,
2010
.
- ^
Carson, l. Pierce (May 16, 2008).
"Winery patriarch dead at 94 Mondavi passes: 'We've lost our leader'
"
.
Napa Valley Register
. Napa, CA: Lee Enterprises, Inc
. Retrieved
September 18,
2011
.
- ^
"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement"
.
www.achievement.org
.
American Academy of Achievement
.
- ^
Intardonato, John (June 19, 2013).
"Just remembering Robert Mondavi"
.
Napa Valley Register
.
- ^
Mondavi inducted into California Hall of Fame
Archived
January 10, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
, California Museum. Accessed 2007.
- ^
"Vintners Hall of Fame Inductees - Robert Mondavi 1913?2008 Inducted 2007"
.
The Culinary Institute of America
. 2014. Archived from
the original
on October 6, 2014
. Retrieved
July 21,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Other
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