Robert Mondavi, one of the most recognizable names in the wine industry, used to represent the name of a man who held great influence on Napa Valley. He is often cited as being the individual responsible for doing more to further the enjoyment and quality of American wine than anyone to come along in the industry. He was innovative yet with an artisan's eye toward making his wines and built a facility at his winery which would allow him to focus on a process for making wine from each varietal separately, in order to extract the greatest flavors and character from his wines.
But after decades of family turmoil and financial wrangling the winery - one of the first and grandest encountered as one embarks on wine country tours entering the valley - was sold off to Constellation brands, the third largest spirits company in the United States. The purchase of the brand by Constellation has been another step in the company's ongoing acquisition trail with an eye toward taking their company up-market.
But with the sale of the wines, the vineyards, the winery, the brands, and the name, Robert Mondavi, many feel that with such has gone the character of the man and the intimacy of the products he took such great care and pride in producing. Now Constellation Brands is squeezing every possible opportunity out of the brand, producing five brands of wine around the Mondavi name, with sixty wines in total bearing the name Mondavi. Today about the only thing that remains the same from the days of yore when Robert himself worked the product into the bottles is the simple illustration of the winery that graces the bottle's label.
