Robert Mondavi
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Robert Gerald Mondavi (born June 18, 1913 in Virginia, Minnesota, United States) is a leading vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California.
Robert Mondavi's parents emigrated from the Marche region of Italy, who established a wine making business in the United States. After graduating from Stanford University in 1937 with a degree in economics and business administration, Mondavi worked with his father after he had acquired the Charles Krug Winery, established in 1861 in the Napa Valley.
After a family feud, Mondavi left Krug in 1965 to open his own winery. He bought To Kalon vineyard at Oakville in Napa Valley and built a stunning winery in California mission style where he started to produce quality wine under his own name.
In 1968 he made a dry oak-aged Sauvignon Blanc, an unpopular variety in the California at the time, and labelled it as Fumé Blanc. The wine became very successful and in time the authorities accepted Fumé Blanc as a synonym for Sauvignon Blanc.
Mondavi successfully developed premium wines that earned the respect of connoisseurs and vinters alike. In 1979, he acquired Woodbridge Winery in Lodi, California developing it into a leader of popular-premium wines. He also entered into a joint venture the Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild to create Opus One Winery.
Robert Mondavi wrote an autobiography Harvests of Joy which was published in 1998.
On December 22, 2004, Constellation Brands acquired the Mondavi vinery for nearly US$1.36 billion.
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