The iron mines of Minnesota appear to be an unlikely starting point for a man who would revolutionize the world of wine. However, fate brought Cesare Mondavi to America from his native Italy, where he joined his brother in the iron mines. Shortly after his arrival, Cesare's son, who would become the man known to the wine world as Robert Mondavi, was born. Following his brother's tragic death in a mine collapse, Cesare decided to pursue other interests, eventually leading him to Lodi in search of grapes to make communion wine within his Italian community.
In 1966 there had not been a new winery built in Napa Valley since prohibition. The then 53 year old Robert Mondavi set to work on his eponymous winery after purchasing a plot of land from the Stelling family. His idea was to take the culture of wine and spread the good news to all. He planned to do this through art, music, food and most of al wine. He built the beautiful Spanish Mission inspired hospitality center you can still visit today. Here he planned to execute his dream.
His dream, to make great wine and share it with the world, took passion, grit, and determination. He stayed at the forefront of winemaking quality and technology. Being the first California to have Stainless Steel tanks and use only French Oak this set the tone for the future. Robert turned out great winemakers like a storied SEC head coach building his coaching tree. The list of former winemakers who went on to great things is long and distinguished.
The Reserve Cabernet is certainly the archetype of Mondavi winemaking. It was first produced in 1971. The wines made throughout the 70’s and 80’s are no doubt some of the best wines made in Napa at the time. This wine is inextricably linked to the To Kalon Vineyard the home of Robert Mondavi Winery.
To Kalon was established by Hamilton Crabb in 1868 and planted to produce high quality fruit from the series of alluvial fans that make up the vineyard. Prohibition hit Crab hard and the property was sold to Martin Stelling in the 1940’s and after his untimely death the family sold of parcels of To Kalon including the original 11.6 acres to Robert where the winery sits. The 429 acres that were sold to Charles Krug surrounded his winery and were eventually awarded to Robert.
Located at the foot of the Mayacamas To Kalon is considered among the top Cabernet terroirs on the planet. Two special blocks of this storied vineyard should not be missed. The famed “I Block” producing the brilliant Fume Blanc To Kalon I Block and the Cabernet produced from “Monastery Block” were both planted in 1945 and are dry famed and producer stunning wines.
It can be argued that Napa Valley, American wine drinking and food and wine culture would be years behind where it is today without Robert Mondavi. In 90’s a series of expansion, purchases of vineyards and wineries and the impact of phylloxera replanting weighed heavily on the finances of the winery. The initially mad a public offering in 1993 and with the trial and tribulations of the 90’s they were acquired by Constellation in 2004. Constellation have been good stewards of both the land and the legacy. In a future post we can explore the Mondavi family tree and how they are still making major impacts in the wine industry.