The House of Mondavi

I normally don’t read non-fiction, but when I saw House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Julia Flynn Siler I had to pick it up. I love Mondavi wines! When I’m in the wine store, Mondavi is my go to wine. So I was interested in reading about how this family became known as America’s “first family” of wine.

The Mondavi family started off with simple roots with Cesare Mondavi emigrating from Italy slowly making his way out West. The background of their family reminds me of The Godfather, with Cesare as The Don. He was well respected within the Italian community, with families coming to Cesare for advice. I’m kept waiting for him to say, “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

Cesare eventually purchased the Charles Krug winery with the hopes of his two sons Robert and Peter running the winery. But of course personalities crashed with Robert and Peter, and Robert was forced out of the family business.

Robert didn’t let the firing stop him from pursuing his love of winemaking and bought his own winery naming it after himself. Robert was driven to make Mondavi number one and to put California wines on the map. During that time period of the early 70’s, California wine was still considered table wine while restaurants only served the fine quality wines from France. Robert intended to change the image of California-produced wine to rival France.

Pretty soon Mondavi was Synonymous with Napa Valley and was one of the leading wine sellers. But history repeated itself with the feuding of Robert’s offspring Michael and Timothy. While Michael believed in expanding the popular Mondavi brand, Timothy believed that Mondavi should focus on producing high-quality wines instead of stretching its resources thin. You can guess the outcome of what’s to happen.

Siler starts from the beginning of the Mondavi’s simple roots to the bitter end when Mondavi was involved in a hostile takeover. Currently there are no family members running the corporation and the Mondavi’s no longer own their name, selling it off during the takeover.

It’s an intriguing story of brother versus brother, hell even at times sons versus father. I’m amazed at Robert’s drive and ambition to become one of the leading brands of wine even at times surpassing French wines. It was also sad to see the family lose the company that they built from the ground up.

The story can be confusing at times to follow since there are so many players involved, but overall it was an enjoyable read. I found the whole wine making process fascinating. Siler gives a good groundwork of the history of Napa Valley and America’s contribution to the wine industry. I’ve been to Napa Valley before and cannot remember for the life of me if I stopped at Robert Mondavi, but the next time I’m in that area, I will be sure to stop now that I know the family history.