As most of you already know the wine industry lost its patriarch Robert Mondavi on May 16, 2008. Robert passed away at his home in the town Yountville at the age of 94.

Robert was a pioneering vintner who grew up in Lodi and is renowned for putting California’s wine country on the map. When people speak of Robert words like visionary, pioneer and industry transformer, are frequent. However, some overlook or discount other important words that defined Robert’s soul. He exemplified words like passion, friendship, pleasure, and devotion.

In 1966, at the age of 52 Robert opened his tasting room where he began the process of developing the Napa Valley into a world center of the industry. At the time, California was still known for its less expensive jug wines and he set out to change all of that. Robert supported the use of cold-fermentation, stainless steel tanks, and French oak barrels long before they were considered commonplace the industry as they are today.

Mondavi envisioned the day when California wines could compete with the European greats. Robert then proceeded to make that happen when he engaged in the first French-American wine venture by forming a limited partnership with the legendary French vintner Baron Philippe de Rothschild to grow and make the ultra-premium Opus One at Oakville. The venture’s first vintage was in 1979.

I would like to share a personal encounter with Robert that occurred in 1977, when I was a young man.

Long before I ever became involved in this industry a couple of my friends and I had a chance encounter with Robert Mondavi while we were out to do some wine tasting in Napa. A group of us were invited to take a tour of the vineyard and then return to the winery to taste the wine. Being a young man I was out to have a good time and not necessarily interested in viticulture or wines for that matter (I was a beer drinker) but I was persuaded by my friends to give this wine tasting thing a try. This serendipitous event was to enlighten me about wine and ultimately affect how I began to relate and understand the words that were delivered by Robert himself on that day as we walked through the rows of fruit hanging effortlessly on the trellises. Robert spoke of the passion that he felt for the fruit on the vine as he explained that without good fruit you can never have great wine. When he spoke of friendship it was in the context of friendship with not only your comrades but a friendship with the environment and the land. Pleasure was another key word that resonates within me today as it reminds me of the great pleasure he was afforded by giving back to all who shared the simple pleasure that a glass of wine with friends and family can bring. He also championed the health benefits of wine consumed in moderation. Last, but certainly not least, the word devotion was a word he spoke with reverence as he expressed respect for those who can and do

devote themselves to art, wine or any endeavor that benefits mankind. At this particular encounter that I speak of he spoke, in depth of his own determination and devotion to building a much larger success for California’s wine recognition. Robert was successful at attaining his dream and that of the many California wine makers that followed in his footsteps.

There is much to say about Robert and there are books that do just that including a most recent release titled The House of Mondavi , authored by Julia Flynn Siler. However, in my world I only have a minimal space to share about this individual’s great accomplishments so I will outline a Mondavi timeline.

1913: Robert was born in Virginia, Minn.
1922: Family moves to Lodi. Robert lived at 415 West Elm St.
1931: Robert played fullback for Lodi Union High School football team that won a championship. Mondavi named MVP.
1932: Graduated from Lodi Union High School.
1936: After earning a degree from Stanford and studying winemaking with a team of professors at University of California at Davis, Mondavi earns a job with a small winery in St. Helena.
1937: Married Lodi resident and fellow high school classmate Marjorie Declusin.
1942: Exempted from service in World War II because of his work in agriculture.
1943: Purchases Charles Krug Winery with father Cesare and younger brother Peter.
1963: Has falling out with Peter over direction of winery.
1966: Opens Robert Mondavi Winery in the Napa Valley in Oakville.
1979: Purchased the land and winery that would become Woodbridge Winery.
1980: Married Margrit Biever.
1993: Mondovi’s wine business goes public.
1999: Presided as Grand Marshall of the Lodi Grape Festival Parade.
2001: Copia, Mondavi’s wine, food and cultural center opens. Mondavi gave $20 million to help fund the $50 million project.
2004: Constellation Brands Inc. buys out Mondavi Corp. including Woodbridge Winery for $1.3 billion.
2007: Named to the California Historical Hall of Fame.
2008: Died, age 94.

As for me all of the above is statistics, but Robert gave me more than that - he gave me inspiration, hope for the future and a belief that anything is possible.