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Robert Mondavi was well known in wine circles and had a role in founding Copia Center (currently closed) in the town of Napa and the performing arts center at UC Davis is named after him. Almost single handedly the Mondavi family has played a huge part on the Napa wine industry by introducing state of the art wine making equipment to the area and marketing the Napa Valley to the rest of the world. Many of the late 20th century Napa Winemakers got their start from him including well known winemakers Warren Winiarski and Mike Grgich. His influence was great - just look at all the winemakers who have gone out on their own after stints working at Mondavi. Word has it that Mondavi used to sell his wine out of the back of a truck! Be sure to visit the intimate Vintners Room and also view the display and photos that show Mondavi's history in the Napa Valley. Mondavi offers some of the most well-rounded wine educational seminars, tastings & tours of any winery in the Napa Valley. We highly recommend their To Kalon Tour & Tasting. Allow at least 90 minutes for this very informative tour and make advance reservations if possible. It caters to all levels of education in regards to wine. Yes, on our tour someone asked if Mondavi puts Cranberries and Cherries into their wines to give it those flavors. Uh huh. You are given a small colored token which indicates you have paid for the tour and then you meet on the walkway or grassy section near the entrance. As soon as the tour guide showed up the first words were "grab your cameras, turn off your cell phones and lets go"!. The tour starts in a side room with an informative overview of the winery, its history and general information about the region. Questions are invited. You then proceed out to the vineyards (weather permitting) for a quick vineyard overview followed by a visit to the massive fermentation room. Many giant fermentation French wood tanks are lined up on both sides of the room. A production video is shown at this point; during crush this room becomes a hive of activity. The barrel aging room located below this giant tank room is a sight worth seeing. Mist released from ceiling misters combined with the romantic play of light helps create a unique ambience in this, one of the largest and most seductive barrel aging rooms of any Napa winery. It is truly a sight to see. In 1966 Robert Mondavi created what he called the first Fume Blanc from the Sauvignon Blanc grape. Today there is a barrel aging room devoted entirely to this wine. You will pass by it before you enter the room where you will taste. There are reasons that Mondavi became well known of course and one of those is that people really enjoy their wines. With 250,000 cases produced per year as of press time, they are large by Napa standards but in the real scope of the wine world they are just medium size. They have been able to really hold onto quality in some of their higher end wines which helps when they source from top notch vineyards including the famed To Kalon Vineyards on site. In our opinion this is an example of a winery with a relatively large production that has not compromised quality for their higher end wines. The 2006 Fume Blanc is a crisp wine with citrus aromas and flavors and some interesting minerality characteristics. The 2006 Pinot Noir Reserve which is mostly from the Carneros growing region is actually one of the nicer Pinot's we have had from Napa. Dijon clone perhaps? It has lots of cherry and cranberry with layered flavors and well structured tannins. The 2002 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon has rich aromas of blackberry, violet and chocolate which also carry into the palate. This is a good example of a high end California Cabernet that people come to Napa seeking. The Moscato d'Oro (Muscat Canelli) is a light, sweet crisp wine very popular for summertime drinking or for pairing with spicy foods. These are just a few of the wines we have sampled at Mondavi during multiple visits as as they produce a huge variety of wine. Visiting in the summer? Mondavi's Summer Music Festivals (held annually since 1969) are extremely popular. Their website has a plethora of information. Visit: www.robertmondavi.com |
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Submitted by: frank464 7/9/2008 12:41:44 PM
To a rich history, marked with many significant contributions to the American Wine Industry & beyond: Robert Mondavi, June 12, 1913 - May 16, 2008
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