![]() ![]() ![]() In 1981, Robert told The Washington Post Magazine, “Fifteen years ago, California didn’t belong the company of the fine wines of the world. With California wines now on the map, Baron Philippe de Rothschild of the famous Château Mouton-Rothschild grand cru agreed to a joint venture with Robert Mondavi Winery to create the collectible Opus One, which now sells for $325 a bottle. The conclusion of the event seemed so inevitable that only one journalist witnessed the shocking determination that the finest white was a chardonnay from Calistoga’s Château Montelena, and the finest red was a cabernet sauvignon from Stags’ Leap Wine Cellars in Napa. The upper crust of the French wine establishment agreed to a blind tasting of some unknown California bottles vying against the most heralded vintners in their nation. Meanwhile, he was serving as winemaker, then vice president of sales for his father’s company, generally traveling much of the year in publicity tours that promoted not only Mondavi varietals but the entire wine industry in Napa Valley, where he became known as the “quiet icon” among his friends and colleagues.Īlso during this time, California wine scored an extraordinary win with the so-called “ Judgment of Paris” of 1976. At Robert Mondavi Winery, he even invented his own version of sauvignon blanc that he called a fumé blanc, or “smoky white.” Still, Robert maintained some California-casual charm, hiring the architect Cliff May-the mid-century father of the modern ranch house-to design the Mission-style adobe estate to preside over his winery.Īfter graduating from Santa Clara, Michael fulfilled his military obligation by joining the National Guard, with service in the Corps of Engineers, and completed his tour as a First Lieutenant. But seeking greater elegance in the product, Robert, with his brother Peter, introduced high-quality European winemaking to the region, aging wines in expensive barrels of French oak or in stainless-steel fermentation tanks. Up to then, California wines often tended to be sweet, cheap, jug wines, like Italy’s grappa. I could afford to pay my own tuition, and my parents paid room and board.” ![]() “I was paid the same as the other field workers,” Michael said, “so I made a fair amount of money. Frequently, during the fall harvest, Michael would hitchhike north to Napa for the Tuesday night shift, work eight hours in the vineyards or cellars on Wednesday, then get back to the Valley for his Thursday classes. Most importantly, it was at Santa Clara that he met the Spaniard Isabel Alcantara ’67, one year his junior, who would become his wife and, eventually, the author of some of her own chardonnay and rosé wine selections.īecause Wednesdays at Santa Clara were then reserved for faculty meetings, there were no classes for undergraduates. His extracurricular interests were in the ski club and playing on the intramural football and rugby teams. So Michael’s major at Santa Clara became management in the degree program of the business of science and commerce, with a minor in architecture. But when he was a junior in high school and contemplating various colleges, a professor of viticulture and enology at University of California, Davis said Michael already was expert in the vintner’s art, had nothing to learn except for the information in a few botanical science courses, and should instead focus on the mercantile aspects of a winery. Winemaking was the primary subject of conversation at his father’s and grandfather’s dinner tables, and he held jobs in every aspect of the business. ![]()
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