Wine Blogging Wednesday #57: California Inspiration

Evidently, I am late on this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday, but it happens to be a theme that I cannot pass up. It’s hosted by Jeff of GoodGrape , who asked us to tell an inspirational story about California wine in honor of the anniversary of Robert Mondavi’s death on May 16th 2008. I was so pleased when I saw this theme because I find that many new wine drinkers are unaware of the significance that Robert Mondavi actually had on the industry. They associate Mondavi with corporate, downscale wines that are mass-produced. Mondavi’s intentions were to make fine wine in California. It was only the interference of other members of the family that diluted the brand, spreading it across various price points and acquiring other brands along the way. House of Mondavi is a good read about the family, by the way, if you care to learn more.

I’ve spoken about Robert Mondavi on this site before and the connection I felt with the winery in Napa, after spending a Summer there. Though Jeff asked us to be broad, my story is quite literal, because it was truly that Summer, that began to inspire me to get involved in my own family business. You see, when your parents consistently urge you to get involved in the family business, even if they do something cool, you immediately want to reject it. I’ll admit I felt like that for many years growing up. It’s not that my parents’ ambition and love of wine didn’t inspire me, it absolutely did. But I think I had to get outside of our family and talk to people in the industry, learn about viticulture, vinification and attend tastings, to truly understand that this isn’t just “what Mom and Dad do.”

When Robert Mondavi was in charge at Oakville, he had a wine education program that every employee had to go through, no matter what your job description. It consisted of learning not just the brands and the wine styles offered at Mondavi but everything in the vineyard from the trellis systems to the pruning methods, to the root stocks. I learned about barrels and racking and filtration, when I was barely old enough to drink the stuff! Being only 20 years old at the time, I was wildly intimidated, but I had to learn it. I started thinking about this man who would decide wine education was so important that he would forego weeks of work for us, in the name of knowledge. My summer at Mondavi was my first glimpse into what it might be like to be a part of a family wine business. I started feeling lucky.

Unfortunately, the wine I tasted tonight did not honor Mondavi in the best way. I had a Robert Mondavi 2000 Napa Valley which tasted like it reached peak a few years ago. I actually thought it was a Reserve which is why I held onto it for so long. The nose has some notes of currant and cedar with hints of black pepper. I’m oddly detecting a bit of heat too, as if the alcohol is off-balance. It’s medium-bodied with notes of plum and delicate tannin that fades quickly. It crashes on the finish. This wine could not stand up to years of age. Though Robert Mondavi set out to produce exclusively fine wines, some were unsuccessful, and I suppose this wine shows that.

Jeff, thanks for taking us back to our roots with this theme and for honoring Mondavi on the anniversary of his death. It’s an important one!

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Wine Blogging Wednesday #43: Comfort Wines

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