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Robert Mondavi Winery is a wine producer in Napa, Napa County, California.
Founder Robert Mondavi (1913-2008) is one of the most famous vintners in the US, and has been instrumental in shaping the California wine industry as we know it today. He is credited by many to have "put California on the map" and revealed the full potential of Napa Valley.
edit Company
- Owner
- Robert Mondavi Winery
edit History
Robert Mondavi was born in 1913 in Virginia, Minnesota. His parents came from the Marche region of Italy. After graduating from Stanford University in 1936 with a degree in business administration, Robert Mondavi joined his father at the St. Helena Winery in Napa Valley, and convinced him to purchase the nearby Charles Krug Winery, where Robert and his younger brother Peter began to work on wine quality improvement.
The Robert Mondavi Winery was built in 1966. At a time when California wine suffered from a bad reputation, this winery made an immediate impact on quality by introducing the use of cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels.
In 1968, Robert Mondavi was the first Californian winery to market Sauvignon Blanc under the name Fumé Blanc, to avoid prejudices held at that time against Sauvignon Blanc. Following the success of that wine, the name Fumé Blanc started to appear on many Sauvignon Blanc labels around California, until today.
By the l970s, Robert Mondavi wines had achieved national and international success. The superior quality of their Cabernet Sauvignon helped revealing to the world the full potential of Napa Valley. At a historic Paris tasting in 1976, two former winemakers of the Robert Mondavi Winery won first prize.
This winery became the cornerstone of a wine empire. Robert Mondavi launched the Opus One Winery with Baron Philippe de Rotschild in 1979, while buying a winemaking cooperative near Lodi that he named Woodbridge.
Mondavi then developed partnerships with other wineries in Italy, Chile and Australia, and became a publicly traded company in 1993.
In addition to founding one of the most famous wineries in the US, Robert 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 without any secrecy.
edit Contact
Phone: 1.888.RMONDAVI (1.888.766.6328)
edit Visits
- Opening hours: year-round from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- For Tours and Reservations: mailto:robertmondavi.reservations@robertmondaviwinery.com
edit See also
- http://www.robertmondaviwinery.com -- Official Website
- Wikipedia article about Robert Mondavi
