| Godfather of Wine Dies at 94 |
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| Written by By Philip Sherwell in New York | |
| Sunday, 18 May 2008 11:54 | |
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The vintner mixed pioneering production techniques with impressive marketing skills as he pursued his conviction that wines from the fertile soil north of San Francisco could compete with the best from the Old World. “It is hard to imagine anyone having more of a lasting impact on California’s $20 billion-a-year (£10 billion) wine industry than Robert Mondavi,” said Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of the state. He was “a tireless entrepreneur who transformed how the world felt about California wine, and an unforgettable personality,” he added. Mr Mondavi was already 52 and a veteran of his family’s wine-making business when he broke away on his own in 1966, following a fist-fight with his brother. At the time, Napa Valley was known for cheap table wines. But just 10 years later, in a blind tasting that rocked the wine world, Californian whites and reds beat their French rivals in the so-called Judgment of Paris. Mr Mondavi introduced European techniques such as cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks and French oak ageing barrels to drag the region’s wine industry into the modern era. He was also a relentless champion of the wine culture and persuaded millions of Americans that having a good bottle of cabernet sauvignon or fumé blanc on the table was part of a New World lifestyle of fine food and drink. “He had the single greatest influence in this country with respect to high-quality wine and its place at the table,” said the prominent American wine critic Robert Parker. |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 06 June 2008 20:16 ) |
Robert Mondavi, the son of Italian immigrants, did more than anyone else to transform Californian wineries’ reputation from one of churning out overly oaky chardonnays to being the home of some world-class vintages.