His friends called him Bob. Others called him one of the most inspirational people in vinoculture.
Robert Mondavi, shown enjoying a glass of his famous product at his winery in Oakville at his 90th birthday celebration, passed away this week at the age of 94. There’s no truth to the rumor that he’ll be buried in an oak barrel.
He was a man who almost single-handedly put a little valley called Napa, 60 miles northeast of San Francisco, on the global wine map by establishing his own label in 1966, then making wines that could compete with France and other countries as the world’s finest. He pushed to pair wines with good foods, to create a culture of hospitality, to create other growing areas such as Chile to promote his ideas, and to use modern techniques such as steel fermentation tanks, small French oak barrels, and other breakthroughs now commonly adapted today.
Read more at SF Gate.com