12/8/2023 0 Comments Michael mondavi folio wines![]() ![]() This he accomplished by bleeding off a small portion of the fermenting juice of recently harvested red grapes. When she said she liked the wine, she was told that that was a good thing-since he had produced several hundred cases. However, some time later he brought a rosé to his mother for her approval. The style for the Isabel wines is elegant, with the exception of the rosé, which is strikingly intense.Īpparently, Isabel asked Rob to make a rosé in addition to the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, a project he was not particularly excited about. ![]() ![]() Isabel is Mondavi’s wife, and his son, Rob Mondavi, Jr. It’s a deeply colored wine made primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon with some Petite Verdot and very small amounts of Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc. The first wine he poured was the Isabel Mondavi Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, Deep Rose 2012 ($20). The main purpose of the meeting was to introduce me to Mondavi’s personal project, M, but we also tasted wines from two other family brands, Isabel Mondavi and Emblem. When asked about it, his host explained that the trees were planted for the benefit of grandchildren. By contrast, he recounted visiting the various Frescobaldi estates, a Folio import, along with a Frescobaldi family member, when he noticing a newly planted grove of trees that wouldn’t reach maturity for many, many years. “I realized for the first time in my life that I wasn’t enjoying going work.” He bemoaned the fact that decisions were made by financial managers to satisfy shareholders on a quarterly basis, with no long term vision. I asked him what it was like for him during the unfolding of events preceding the change of ownership of the Robert Mondavi Winery. He is now 70, and though he apparently doesn’t run regularly anymore, he is still trim and has the energy and enthusiasm that seems to be a family trait. ![]() It had been at least a decade since I had last seen Michael Mondavi. Notice that in neither venture is the name Mondavi paired with the word wine or winery, apparently a condition of the sale of the Robert Mondavi Winery, which at some point Michael was able to renegotiate for his brand. In 2006, the Michael Mondavi Family Estate was established. The first company they created in 2004, after Michael left Robert Mondavi Winery, was Folio Fine Wine Partners, an import and marketing company. The family business includes his wife Isabel, son Rob Jr. I recently met with Michael Mondavi, co-founder with his father of the Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966 and currently head of Michael Mondavi Family Estates. Son Michael and his family started wine ventures of their own. Robert’s son Tim and daughter, Marcia Mondavi Borger, along with their children, started the Continuum Estate. I was also around to witness from afar the meltdown at Robert Mondavi Winery that split family members once again, though perhaps this time with some financial compensation the sale to Constellation Brands. I had the honor of meeting him many times and writing about many of his innovative ideas. Robert went on to put the Napa Valley and his winery on the international wine map (among the elite, really), employing the talents of such winemakers as Warren Winiarski, Mike Grgich and Zelma Long. The result of that separation was the Robert Mondavi Winery. I wasn’t yet involved with wine when Robert and Michael were forced out of the family business at Charles Krug Winery. In the world of wine it conjures memories of visionary thinkers, charismatic leaders, bitter family strife, ugly separations and rising from the ashes…not just once. Wine Review Online - A Meeting with Michael Mondavi ![]()
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