No single family did more to put Napa Valley on the world’s wine map than the Mondavis — and none paid a higher personal price for it. Their story runs from a Minnesota mining town to a $1.35 billion sale, by way of an immigrant father, a legendary fistfight between brothers, and one relentless salesman who convinced the world that California could make wine to rival France1.
Quick facts
- Robert Mondavi founded his Oakville winery in 1966 — Napa’s first major winery after Prohibition.
- A 1965 fistfight with his brother Peter split the family’s Charles Krug estate.
- He renamed unsold Sauvignon Blanc Fumé Blanc in 1968 and created a hit.
- His land included the historic To Kalon vineyard; in 2004 the company sold for $1.35 billion.
From Minnesota to Napa
Robert Mondavi was born in 1913 in Virginia, Minnesota, to parents who had left the Marche region of Italy. The family moved west, and in 1943 they bought the historic Charles Krug winery in St. Helena, where Robert and his younger brother Peter set about raising the quality of Napa wine2.
The fistfight that built a winery
The brothers’ relationship curdled. In 1965, during an argument sharpened by years of rivalry — the spark, famously, was a mink coat Robert had bought for a White House dinner — Robert struck Peter. Their mother Rosa expelled Robert from Charles Krug2. Rather than retire, the 52-year-old struck out on his own: in 1966 he opened the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville, the first major new winery in Napa since Prohibition, its mission-style arch announcing bold ambitions3.
The great evangelist
Mondavi turned out to be a marketing genius. In 1968 he took Sauvignon Blanc — a grape Californians would not buy — aged it in oak and rechristened it Fumé Blanc, turning a slow seller into a category4. He preached the gospel of food, wine and travel, opened his winery to visitors, embraced new technology, and tirelessly told anyone who would listen that Napa belonged in the same conversation as Bordeaux5.
His estate also embraced one of California’s greatest vineyards: To Kalon — Greek for “the beautiful” — first planted by the pioneer H.W. Crabb in 18685. When Napa stunned the wine world at the 1976 Judgment of Paris, Mondavi was the movement’s loudest champion.
Making great wine is a skill; making fine wine is an art.— Robert Mondavi1
Bordeaux, and a bittersweet ending
In 1979 Mondavi realised a dream, joining Baron Philippe de Rothschild to found Opus One — Napa and Pauillac as equal partners. But the family saga ended in loss: after the company went public, control slipped away, and in December 2004 the Robert Mondavi Corporation was sold to Constellation Brands for about $1.35 billion6. Robert died in 2008, aged 94, the acknowledged father of modern American fine wine.
Frequently asked questions
More from this day in wine history
See everything else that happened on June 18 — who was born, what was bottled, and which laws were signed.
Read more
- To Kalon: Napa’s most famous vineyard
- Baron Philippe de Rothschild, his Opus One partner
- The 1976 Judgment of Paris
References
- Decanter — Obituary: Robert Mondavi. ↑
- The Washington Post — Robert Mondavi, 94; Noted Vintner Who Raised the Quality of American Wine. ↑
- VinePair — 10 Things You Should Know About Robert Mondavi Winery. ↑
- Forbes (Tom Hyland) — Robert Mondavi Fumé Blanc: Five Decades of Excellence. ↑
- Grape Guru — Robert Mondavi Winery: History, To Kalon & Fumé Blanc. ↑
- Charles Krug Winery — Our Napa Valley Legacy. ↑
Recommended reading
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