Obituary: Robert Mondavi

In Napa Valley, where formality tends to be reserved for gala auctions and visiting dignitaries, Robert G Mondavi was and probably always will be referred to as 'Mister'.

'Call me Bob,' or 'Call me Robert,' he would say when introducing himself. Yet those employed by him over the years at Robert Mondavi Winery, others who worked with him to enhance the quality and reputation of California wines, and even some who didn't always see eye to eye with America's most important and charismatic wine figure, typically showed their respect by calling him 'Mr Mondavi.'

Mr Mondavi died on May 16, one month shy of his 95th birthday. The legendary vintner, who had been frail and in a wheelchair in recent years, died peacefully at his home near Yountville in Napa Valley, the family said.

Described as the father/grandfather/godfather/patriarch/ambassador of California wine, Mondavi, a skilled technician and ultimate marketing and public relations man, waged a half-century-long, four-pronged campaign: Rally California winemakers to produce better wines; show the world that California wine quality could rival that of France, Italy and Germany; encourage Americans, for whom little wine-drinking tradition existed, to include wine as a healthy, food-friendly part of their lives; and demonstrate that wine, food and the arts were equal components in enjoying 'the good life.'

'We lost one of the most important leaders in the world of wine, and for those of us in the Napa Valley, it's as if we've lost our second father or grandfather,' said Linda Reiff, executive director of the Napa Valley Vintners association. 'Robert Mondavi was the head of the Napa Valley wine community's extended family - this large, crazy yet tight-knit and dedicated group of people who would do anything to help each other. And that's one of the many important lessons Mr. Mondavi taught us: To always be there to help a neighbor, a friend, our community or beyond. He was one of the most kind and generous people we've ever known.'

In addition to founding the most famous winery in the US, Mondavi is credited with being one of the creators of the wildly successful Napa Valley Wine Auction, and for sharing viticultural and enological research and information with his competitors, believing, as Richard Arrowood said, 'that it would come back to him ten-fold.'

Decanter's consultant editor Steven Spurrier said, 'There will never be another Robert Mondavi. He was unique, and completely driven, completely consistent. His uniqueness lay in the fact that from the very beginning he wanted success for the whole Napa Valley – he was never just in it for his own operation.'

Mondavi inspired huge loyalty, and counted some of the most eminent wine professionals as personal friends.

'I was there at the opening of the winery in 1966,' Hugh Johnson said. 'He was always a great great friend. What was unique about him? He was an amazing, seamless talker – unstoppable. He was always asking questions, trying out new theories on people – and he always had a bottle of wonderful French wine on the table, Mouton or Latour. He wanted to show everyone the wine he was making was just as good.'

'He is singly responsible for putting respect for California wines on the map. Period. End of story,' said Arrowood, who received advice and inspiration from Mondavi in the early 1970s, when Arrowood was a lab technician at Rodney Strong Vineyards in Sonoma, contemplating becoming a winemaker. 'He brought all the wines from California to the attention of the world, not just Napa.'

Arrowood went on to great success as the winemaker at Chateau St Jean, then founded Arrowood Vineyards & Winery in Sonoma. In an interesting twist, he and his wife, Alys, sold their winery to Mondavi in 2000, with Arrowood staying on as winemaker. The sale of the Robert Mondavi Corp to Constellation Brands in 2004 ended the business relationship, yet Arrowood looks back fondly on the experience.

'The whole family was very kind to us, very sincere,' he said. 'The wine world has lost a champion of graciousness and the enjoyment of wine and food'.

Sarah Kemp, publishing director of Decanter (which honored Mondavi as its Man of the Year in 1989) said, 'Robert Mondavi holds a unique position in the history of wine. This extraordinary man, through his vision, relentless energy and gritty determination, changed the way consumers thought about wine. By putting California wine on the map, he ensured the world knew that some of the world's great wines could be made outside Europe, at the time a revolutionary concept. He was deservedly one of the wine legends of our time.'

One of Mondavi's proudest accomplishments was the 2001 opening of Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, in the city of Napa, to which he was a major contributor. Also in 2001, he and his second wife, Margrit Biever Mondavi, gave US$25 million to help establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis, which is scheduled to open in October, and US$10 million to launch the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in Davis, which opened in 2002.

After being forced out of his family's Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena in 1966, Mondavi founded Robert Mondavi Winery on the west side of Highway 29 in Oakville. In addition to the high-quality wines made there, the winery's iconic California mission architecture, educational opportunities, visitor amenities, concert series and Great Chefs program (participants included Julia Child, Alice Waters, Paul Bocuse and Joel Robuchon) underscored the credo Mondavi outlined in his 1998 book, 'Robert Mondavi: Harvests of Joy.'

'Wine to me is passion,' he wrote. 'It's family and friends. It's warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It's culture. It's the essence of civilization and the Art of Living … When I pour a glass of truly fine wine, when I hold it up to the light and admire its color, when I raise it to my nose and savor its bouquet and essence, I know that wine is, above all else, a blessing, a gift of nature, a joy as pure and elemental as the soil and vines and sunshine from which it springs.'

Jay Indelicato, chairman of the California Wine Institute, said, 'Over the decades, he encouraged a spirit of cooperation for all wineries in California. He helped advance the whole industry, from technical issues all the way to marketing concepts and culture. He was out there doing it all himself, not just designing programs. What drove him? True passion.'

Mondavi was born in 1913 in Virginia, Minnesota, to parents who left the Marche region of Italy for America. The family moved to Lodi, California, during Prohibition and Robert attended school there.

A 1936 graduate of Stanford University with a degree in economics and business administration, he joined his father, Cesare, at Sunny St. Helena Winery, a bulk wine producer. He later convinced his father to purchase the nearby Charles Krug Winery, where Mondavi and his younger brother, Peter began to improve quality there.

During an argument with Peter in 1965 over Robert's purchase of a mink coat for his first wife, Marjorie, to wear to a White House dinner, Robert punched his younger brother, prompting his expulsion from Krug by his mother, Rosa.

So at age 53, Mondavi built Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966, with his older son, Michael. At a time when California wine was considered cheap plonk, the Mondavis made an immediate impact on quality by introducing the use of cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels to their winemaking. By the l970s, Robert Mondavi wines were recognized for their superior quality and sold abroad.

Robert Mondavi had a great eye for talent, hiring several winemakers who went on to stardom elsewhere, including Warren Winiarski (Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Zelma Long (Simi Winery and now her own Zelphi Wines), Mike Grgich (Grgich Hills) and Dan Goldfield (Dutton-Goldfield Winery).

Along the way, Mondavi met Baron Philippe de Rothschild at Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux, and in 1979, the two launched Opus One Winery in Oakville, a specialist in Bordeaux-style red wines. That same year, Mondavi bought a winemaking cooperative near Lodi that he named Woodbridge, for the production of value-priced wines.

Mondavi further expanded his winemaking empire through partnerships with the Frescobaldi family in Italy, Eduardo Chadwick of Viña Errazuríz in Chile, and Rosemount in Australia.

Seeking more growth, the Robert Mondavi Corp. became a publicly traded company in 1993. Robert semi-retired, though his succession plans were upset when sons Michael and Timothy couldn't agree on how to run the company. Financial problems arose, stock prices fell, and the family was compelled to sell its shares in Robert Mondavi Corp. to Constellation Brands in 2004, a transaction that the family and many Napa Valley neighbors still have difficulty swallowing.

Richard Sands, chairman of Constellation, praised Mondavi's contributions.

'He had a vision about the potential for developing great California wines. Robert was a pioneer who acted on his vision and was both passionate and relentless in his pursuit of ever-better wines, especially from the Napa Valley. He championed the marriage of fine wine, excellent food, arts and culture, and relationships that enrich lives. He was an inspiration and he will be greatly missed.'

Mondavi was awarded France's Legion of Honor in 2005 and in 2006, was the first inductee into the Culinary Institute of America's Vintners Hall of Fame. In 2007, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger inducted Mondavi into the California Hall of Fame.

At the time of his death, Mondavi was chairman emeritus of the Robert Mondavi Corp. With his wife, Margrit, son Tim and daughter Marcia Mondavi Borger, he also owned the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon-based brand Continuum; the first vintage, 2005, was recently released.

In addition to his wife, sons and daughter, Mondavi is survived by nine grandchildren and his brother, Peter. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Copia, UC Davis, The Oxbow School and Stanford University.

Robert Mondavi Winery spokesperson Mia Malm said services will be private. A remembrance book will be available at the Oakville winery and at the visitor center at Woodbridge winery in Lodi, California, for those wishing to share a message or condolence. The books will be given to the Mondavi family.

Linda Murphy

Forget the Glass Drink from the Decanter

Loving adventure and experimenting, just like a monk, I took the decanter and drank my third and fabulous 2003 Chateauneuf Du Pape bottle for the evening.
I put my nose directly into the decanter and slowly poured this great vintage into my mouth and the flavors intensified!
Creativity is so important, do you wonder sometimes how warriors and war kings drank their wine while out on the field? Life is too short and insane in this "new world" . I wonder how Charlemagne drank wine after a battle.

Wino

Viewing wine through a Parkerized looking glass

Saddled with the name Alice, I've long-suffered from the inevitable Wonderland reference. However, when it comes to the critical acclaim for New World-style winemaking, I really do wonder if I've stepped through the looking glass.

I shun popular fruit-driven wines just as I do cardboard tomatoes. Others rush to them the way mice rush to sugar. Are we really tasting the same wines? Is my palate so peculiar? Or have others had their taste buds brainwashed?

It occurs to me that larger forces might be at play, pushing these bold flavors, especially when a respected winemaker gets publicly paddled for making wine in a restrained style. And especially when it's a vintner whose wines were previously lauded, like Steve Edmunds of Berkeley's Edmunds St. John winery.

I first experienced Edmunds' wine in the form of his Port O'Call New World Red. This was back at a 1989 wedding in the Berkeley hills, and it was everything I used to like about what California could produce. The grapes in the wine were identifiable as a Rhone-style blend with the taste of those lovely soft, barely cooked mi-cuit prunes from Provence, and didn't skimp on tannic structure, but it also had that California brightness.

Uber critic Robert M. Parker Jr. liked it as well. In his early criticism, he heaped on praise, calling Edmunds St. John perhaps the "finest practitioner" of Californians working with Rhone grapes. He remained an Edmunds supporter for nearly two decades, even stating in a 1994 write-up, "I love this guy's wines." But something started to turn. Parker's current notes might say more about where the critic is now, than Edmunds.

A couple of years back I traveled from New York to Paso Robles, on assignment researching the region's wines and attending Hospice du Rhone, an annual celebration of Rhone grapes. I'm a redhead who melts in the heat, and the sauna-like conditions on the day of the gala tasting - reminiscent of the real Rhone Valley - made me weak. I gulped some ice water and revived the old curmudgeon within as I grumbled, "OK, there must be something I can tolerate in this room."

A few wineries impressed me - Pipestone, Adelaida and Tablas Creek. But California generally is out of my usual taste preference. Still, I was there to experience the scenery, so I sidestepped the exhibiting French vignerons and made rounds of the locals. Right next to where the hefty wines of Turley Wine Cellars were being poured was their polar opposite: Edmunds St. John. With graying blond hair and vintage pre-'90s spectacles, Steve Edmunds, a boyish 58, had a get-me-out-of-here-and-put-a-guitar-in-my-hand kind of demeanor.

I took a sip of his Los Robles Red Viejos Rozet Vineyards Paso Robles from the 2000 vintage. I liked it and was so relieved to find Edmunds' mark of restraint still stamped on the wine. The 2001 Basseti Vineyard Syrah was next, all sunny and tasting of olive, with well-knit tannin. Good and healthy tannin. "There's hope," I thought.

But not everyone shares my love of tannin, like the guy tasting next to me. He asked Edmunds: "Is this ever going to open up?"

Like Edmunds' way of dressing, or his eyeglasses, little has changed in his winemaking. He still doesn't have his own winery. He buys his fruit from trusted sources. He approaches the wines as he has for more than 20 years. The dirt the grapes grew in did not change; neither did Edmunds' approach to the grapes. He still interprets the parcels he uses, with vintage and maturity being the only variables. He picks earlier than most and has never bowed to the gods of new oak. His aim is to work with the power of California fruit and not, as is popular today, augment it. The wine was plenty open for me. I directed Mr. Closed Wine to Turley.

Parker on the attack
Though Edmunds enjoyed Parker's praise, his scores never made it to the cult status of 95 points or higher. Since his first vintage in 1987, Edmunds' restrained style has made him an unsung hero for those who believe California should lower the sugar and lift the personality in its wines. But in Parker's eyes, Edmunds seemingly started to falter in 2004 and cracked in the 2005 vintage, when Parker slammed him with damning scores ranging from 84 to 87. Where in years past, even middling scores for Edmunds were accompanied by glowing prose, this time the words stung.

In the August 2007 Wine Advocate Parker wrote, "What Steve is doing appears to be a deliberate attempt to make French-styled wines. Of course California is not France and therein may suggest the problem. If you want to make French wine, do it in France."

"Wow," I thought, "wine critic on the attack." Criticizing a wine for trying to be French? As Edmunds has said, he does not want to augment the power that is natural to California. Was he punished for elegance or has America and its most favored critic forgotten the beauty of restraint? The personal attack seemed out of line, more like a spurned lover. There were also some choice words that would quickly lay me flat on a shrink's couch if they were used about a piece of my writing: "innocuous effort," "one-dimensional," "superfluous."

Was Parker was playing the Wonderland Duchess, screaming, "Off with his head"? Parker's style has been quick to laud and hesitant to criticize. This show of displeasure was highly out of character. The words indicated offense, but what could be offensive? Did Edmunds disappoint by not succumbing to a preference for jam and oak? Was this to be a cautionary tale to those who take a stand against non-Parkerized wines?

I wanted to inquire what Edmunds' thought of it all. Before we met up for dinner this March, I retasted some 2005s. I found the 2005 Parmelee Hills compelling, with touches of mint, the deep smoked blueberry of Syrah and a definite touch of granite in the rain. The wine had opened more than the last time I had it and was far from superfluous or innocuous.

In fact, over the next few days it opened up and showed even more complexity. The Red Neck 101 Eaglepoint Ranch, which Parker said had a "superficial personality," sang with cocoa, forest and plum. Both of these wines were quite closed when I last tasted them five months previous. Edmunds' wines need some time. Sometimes a few months. Parker is an experienced taster, shouldn't he have known this? (I would have contacted Parker, but I suspected he wouldn't take the call.)

I kicked off the Edmunds evening with a brilliant skid on the slick floor of New York's Gramercy Tavern restaurant that landed me right on my butt. As I nursed my wounds over a bottle of Beaujolais, Edmunds told me he, too, was mystified by the Parker debacle. It occurred to him that somehow he offended the critic. Perhaps it was a discussion of Syrah on Parker's Web site. "I said that I hoped that Syrah didn't get turned into an SUV, and Parker popped in on the thread and called me a wimp."

Vintner sticks to his guns
But there is evidence of discontent in the wings. Despite Edmunds' spanking, I'm hopeful that others might have the spunk to lower the dial on the fruit and expose the complexity California wine can have.

"Plenty of people offered me encouragement," Edmunds said, "for being willing to take such a beating for not making the style of wine that Parker seems to demand."

What helped ease the pain was that far from worrying about hurting his sales, Edmunds' East Coast sales rep sent out a mailing that said: "Edmunds St. John scores mediocre points in the Wine Advocate!"

And the wine sold like hotcakes.

Maybe I'm not in Wonderland after all.

Alice Feiring

Viniculture is helping lift Latin America out of poverty

South America is not one continent, but two. There is the continent of polo-playing, culture-loving exiles, whose life is a rehearsal for an imagined Europe. And there is the continent of the impoverished shanty towns and half-tamed jungle, where Maoist guerrillas and ruthless drug barons compete for control.

Wine is produced in one of those continents, but not in the other. When did you last have a glass of Venezuelan Chardonnay or Colombian Pinot Noir? But turn to Chile or Argentina, and you encounter wine made to European standards by people who are often themselves recent imports from the Old Continent.

This does not mean, however, that the wines from these countries are all produced by well-heeled consultants on vast estates in enviable surroundings. There is poverty enough in Chile and Argentina. And as the best wine is often produced on poor soil in harsh conditions, it is quite likely that, by buying it, you are doing the best that you can for a family of struggling peasants.

This is the case with the wines of the Riojana winery in the remote town of Chilecito in northern Argentina, a place of high altitude, impoverished soil and sparse rainfall where a few farmers have subsisted for generations on small parcels of thankless land. The winery hopes to lift these farmers out of poverty, and has earned the right to export their product under the Fairtrade label.

The wine - named after Saint Florentina, sister to the great bishop Isidore of Seville - is a bargain for you, as much as for the farmers. Of the two well-made examples on offer from Corney & Barrow, our preference went to the Chardonnay - unoaked, but with strong mineral structure beneath the garlands of flower and fruit. Not that the Pinot Gris is without appeal - though very much the standard appeal of that city tipple, and the way for well-heeled girls about town to do their bit for the Andean farmers.

The two wines from Chile come from the historic Maipo Valley, where cool breezes from the Pacific, circling around the baked slopes of the foothills, produce a microclimate perfectly adapted to the production of strong, dark wines from the Bordeaux varietals. Of the two on offer, we marginally preferred the Cabernet Sauvignon: a heady wine with a full backing of tannin, and a tobacco-leaf aroma that reminded me of the days before political correctness when that aroma could be encountered in bars, restaurants and offices across the country, and when solitary comfort was available to anyone anywhere, at the striking of a match.

In those days, however, wine was expensive, Chilean wine had not been discovered, and there was no doorway off our city streets through which you could duck your way to a quick glass of it. Losing one comfort, we have gained another. Cheers.

Roger Scruton

Gallo Most Powerful Global Wine Brand

Gallo is the most popular global brand with Hardy's of Australia being the runner up, with USA owning the maximum Top 100 wine brands, though no brand has made it to the top 10 slots in the spirit and wine category, declares an annual independent survey.

Compiled by Intangible Business, the report titled 'The Power 100- The World's Most Powerful Spirits and Wine Brands 2008' has evaluated over 10,000 brands across the world.

The brand numbering is based on the assessment of both the financial contribution of each brand alongside their strength in the eyes of the consumer.

Smirnoff has been adjudged as the top brand overall followed by Johnny Walker.

Intangible Business is the world's leading independent brand valuation consultancy, specialising in the valuation and development of brands. It has valued and advised some of the world's biggest brands from a management, legal and financial point of view.

The study uses a robust methodology which takes into account the consumer's perception of brand strength and its financial performance. A panel of leading international drinks experts score each brand on a variety of measures and these scores are combined with hard volume data to create a league table of the most powerful international drinks brands in the world.

Here are the wine brands that find a spot in the Top 100 spirits and wine brands:

1. Gallo Gallo USA 18
2. Hardy's Constellation Australia 19
3. Concha Y Toro Concha Y Toro Chile 21
4. Robert Mondavi Constellation USA 36
5. Yellow Tail Casella Wines Australia 38
6. Beringer Fosters USA 44
7. Jacobs Creek Pernod Ricard Australia 47
8. Sutton Home Trinchero Family Est. USA 52
9. Lindemans Foster Australia 60
10. Blossom Hills Diageo USA 63
11. Wolf Blass Fosters Australia 75
12. Kendal Jackson Brown-Forman USA 82
13. Banrock Station Hardy Wine Co. USA 83
14. Penfolds Fosters Australia 84
15. Inglenook Robert Mondavi USA 86
16. Torres Torres Spain 88
17. Kumala Vincor Int. South Africa 98


Chile, Spain and South Africa seem to be the party spoilers for the USA and Australia who have virtual brand monotony.

France may not enjoy the brand popularity in the still wine section but has a near monopoly in the sparkling wine sector with only Freixenet (49) and Martini (100) give some competition to Champagne brands.

Moet Chandon is the obvious king (14). Other brands enjoying a spot in the Top 100 Spirits and Wine Brands are Veuve Clicquot (26) also owned by LVMH. Other brands at the fag end of the ceremonial parade are Laurent Perrier (73), Piper Heidsieck (74), Mumm (76), Dom Perignon (79), Taittinger (91) and Nicolas Feuillatte (99).

Quit Struggling with the cork! Enjoy wine in a box! At least they do!

"Boxed wines cost less, keep longer, and open easier than regular bottles.
Box wines (also known as boxed wines) have become popular in recent years because they hold more wine than a single bottle, are light and recyclable, easy to open and reseal, chill quickly, and won't break if you drop them."

Quote By Jeffery Lindenmuth

Photo (College Kids)

German Research Identifies Wine Phenolics

Braunschweig, Germany -- Winegrapes have long been known to contain healthful properties, and in recent years, these have been the subject of research around the globe. Bioactive wine constituents including anthocyanins and resveratrol also contribute to wine's sensory properties. For the past 25 years, Dr. Peter Winterhalter has been performing wine-related research at the Institute of Food Chemistry at the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany. When his team started, "There were excellent techniques available for the volatile compounds/flavor compounds (in wine), but what was missing was a gentle methodology by which the aroma progenitors/precursers could be analyzed," he told Wines & Vines via e-mail.

"A major amount of the aroma of wine is present in a nonvolatile form, and during wine production and storage, these compounds are converted to the volatiles, i.e., the aroma active compounds. We therefore needed a gentle and preparative method by which we could handle these labile (unstable) progenitors."

This was the starting point of the team's work with countercurrent chromatography (CCC), the topic of the Honorary Research Lecture that Winterhalter will present at the American Society for Enology & Viticulture's (ASEV) annual meeting in June. Given that much of the program at the Portland, Ore., event will be devoted to sensory analysis of wine and grapes, Winterhalter was an apt choice as presenter.

In a brief abstract of his lecture, "Application of Countercurrent Chromatography in Wine Research and Wine Analysis," Winterhalter described CCC as: "One of the few liquid chromatographic techniques that can be predictably scaled up from analytical to process scale. This technique is ideally suited to the analysis of polar wine constituents."

The principle of CCC "is like a separation funnel that operates under extremely gentle conditions and is also preparative," he added. "In this regard, we could enrich minor or even trace compounds, and we were in many cases able to clarify the structure of important wine aroma precursers." Among those cited were TDN ("petrol note") and wine lactone.

"We also applied this technique to the analysis of phenolic compounds in white wine," Winterhalter continued. "Due to the preparative capabilities of CCC, we were able to work up large amounts of a polar Riesling extract. We ended up with roughly 100 identified structures, approximately 50 of them being identified for the first time in wine."

Since then, the team has scaled-up the technique and now can perform separations on the kilogram scale. The preparative version of CCC, Winterhalter explained, "is mainly used for the study of bioactive wine constituents (such as) anthocyanins or resveratrol derivatives.

"For thorough studies into the mechanism of cancer prevention of these compounds, large amounts of pure specimens are required, and these testing substances have also been isolated by using CCC," he said.

In the first part of his lecture, Winterhalter will explain CCC instrumentation and its application to the analysis of labile aroma precursors, antioxidants and anthocyanins. In the latter part, he'll describe novel centrifugal precipitation chromatography for the fractionation of polymeric wine constituents and describe the scale-up of the technique for separations in the 10-100 gram range, according to ASEV's preview material.

Jane Firstenfeld