Robert Mondavi
Robert Gerald Mondavi ( born June 18, 1913 in Virginia, Minnesota, † May 16, 2008 in Yountville, California ) was a pioneer of the American wine industry.
Life
Robert Gerald Mondavi was the eldest son of Cesare Mondavi (1883-1959) and his wife Rosa, who were Italian immigrants. After a brief career in the iron mining Cesare opened a saloon. In 1922 the family moved to California and founded in Lodi in the Central Valley with a wholesale wine grapes. For your own use wine was also produced. In 1943 was in 1861 by Charles Krug, a Prussian immigrant, founded winery bought for $ 75,000. Robert left the family business in the dispute, as his younger brother Peter ( born 1915 ) inherited the estate.
In 1966 he founded his own winery Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville with his older son, Robert Michael. She was the first new winery in the Napa Valley since Prohibition-era (1919-1933 ). The operation was subsequently to scale in terms of completely new cellar techniques. Specifically, it has been experimenting with barrel aging, the Robert Mondavi specifically explored after a visit to Europe. It was the famous " Fumé Blanc " created a dry, matured in oak white wine from the Sauvignon Blanc. Since the founding of the winery Robert Mondavi had to make the goal of fine California wines. He sat on an assortment of wines from various regions in California - Napa Valley, Monterey coast, Lodi and Santa Maria Valley.
Robert Mondavi died in May 2008 at the age of 94 years.
Creation of "Opus One"
Together with Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) started in 1979 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley, the joint venture " Opus One Vineyard " in which the red wine, Opus One was created. Other investments and cooperation there is, among others, Frescobaldi and Ornellaia (Italy) and Errazuriz (Chile).
Quote
"Making good wine is a craft - to create a great wine, however, is an art. "
Sale of the Robert Mondavi Winery
In 1993, Timothy and Robert Michael, sons of Robert and Margrit Biever Mondavi 's wife, the management of the Mondavi empire. Here, the family business was converted into a public limited company. A decade later, the Mondavi family had to give up its stake in the corporation. She had taken over financially and the business was sold to the liquor company Constellation Brands in December 2004. For the acquisition of the necessary for the acquisition of a majority shareholding Constellation Brands paid $ 1.36 billion. The decision to transform the family business into a corporation should Robert Mondavi regret later.
Robert Mondavi Europe
The Company Robert Mondavi Europe was founded in 1997 with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and has been responsible for the European sales of the wines of Robert Mondavi from California. With the purchase of Robert Mondavi Corp.. USA was dissolved establishment Europe 2005 by Constellation Brands. The core team of the Robert Mondavi Europe GmbH has made in the TxB International Fine Wines GmbH independently with headquarters in Frankfurt. More products of the Robert Mondavi Winery are Luce, Lucente and danzante in cooperation with Marchese Vittorio de ' Frescobaldi of Tuscany and Seña and Caliterra in cooperation with the family Eduardo Chadwick of Viña Errazuriz in Chile, as well as Opus One in cooperation with Baron Philippe de Rothschild. In addition, the operation holds shares in the Ornellaia, the famous winery in the DOC Bolgheri area of Tuscany, the wines such as Ornellaia and Masseto produced and was founded by the Marquis Lodovico Antinori, the younger brother of Piero Antinori. This is also the first wine of the Australian Joint ventures > Rosemount Estate 'with Robert Oatley was born.
Patronage
The Robert Mondavi Winery was one of the first U.S. wineries, organized concerts, art exhibitions and culinary events.
The University of California at Davis, he donated $ 35 million to establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science and another ten million dollars for the completion of a Centre for the Performing Arts, which was named after him and his wife.