Robert Mondavi Facts

Robert Mondavi Facts

Robert Mondavi (born 1913) has brought prestige to American wines and helped to popularize wine drinking across the nation. Since opening his own vineyard in 1966, he has seen California's Napa Valley develop into one of the finest wine-making regions in the world.

Before Robert Mondavi, American wine was "understood … to be the stuff of skid-row jokes," wrote Paul Lukacs in the Washington Times. Most wines made in the country were low-priced table wine at best, not to be held in comparison with the excellent vintages from France. Frustrated, Mondavi set out to change that; he wanted to make Napa Valley wines competitive internationally. Most thought his aspirations were too lofty, but he broke away from his family's long-running business and founded his own firm in 1966 with his oldest son. At first, he simply hoped to produce world-class Napa wines, but eventually, his mission expanded to educating the American drinking public about the joys of wine consumption and promoting the industry as a whole. This gained him the reputation of being "the ambassador of wine" and earned him the nickname "The Patriarch." Mondavi's sales and marketing efforts have gone a long way to transforming the image of quality wine from being a bastion of the elite to being an unpretentious, regular part of a good meal.

Mondavi was born on June 18, 1913, in Virginia, Minnesota. His parents, Cesare and Rosa (Grassi) Mondavi, were Italian immigrants. His mother ran a boarding house for local Italian laborers and while his father was the proprietor of a grocery store and later, a saloon. However, Prohibition law was enacted in 1919, which outlawed the sale of beer and liquor, threatening Cesare Mondavi's business. The law allowed for individuals to produce up to 200 gallons of wine, though, so Mondavi's father decided to become a grape wholesaler for the many Italian families who wanted to continue enjoying their traditional wine with meals.

Headed West

Cesare Mondavi's business often took him to the West Coast. So, in the early 1920s, the family relocated to Lodi, California, south of Sacramento. The clan included Mondavi; his older sisters, Mary and Helen; and his younger brother, Peter. Mondavi and his brother helped with the business, nailing together wooden crates for shipping wine. Early on, Mondavi showed a strong desire to succeed, playing on the Lodi High School football team even though he was a slight 140 pounds. When his team reached the regional championships, Mondavi was chosen "most valuable player." He also served as president of his class one year, and was on the swim team.

After high school, Mondavi was accepted at Stanford University and graduated in 1937. With guidance from his father, he began to study business, in anticipation of building a career in the wine industry. He

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