Pioneering Winemaker Peter Mondavi Dies at 101
February 22 2016 - 3:40PM
Dow Jones News
Peter Mondavi, a Napa Valley wine-country innovator who led his
family's Charles Krug Winery through more than half a century of
change, has died. He was 101.
Mr. Mondavi died Saturday at his home in St. Helena, Calif.,
said Wendy Lane Stevens, a member of the C. Mondavi & Family
board of directors.
Mr. Mondavi, who battled his more-famous brother Robert Mondavi
for control of Charles Krug, began his career when the Napa Valley
was known chiefly for cheap wine and he saw it grow into one of the
world's premiere wine regions.
He played a part in that rise, pioneering a number of
improvements to California winemaking, including the use of cold
fermentation for white wines and sterile filtration. Charles Krug
has been in the hands of the Mondavi family since 1943, when it was
purchased by Mr. Mondavi's parents, Cesare and Rosa.
Peter and Robert ran the winery together after Cesare's death in
1959 but were unable to agree on management styles and split, with
Robert founding the Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966. The brothers
reconciled and in 2005 celebrated their reunion by making a special
blend of wine together.
Peter Mondavi's sons now lead the business. Marc Mondavi heads
the CK Mondavi Vineyards division, producer of a popular line of
affordable wines, and Peter Jr. leads Charles Krug, producer of
premium Napa Valley wines.
Born Nov. 8, 1914, the youngest of four children, Peter Mondavi
got his start as a boy packing boxes for his father's
grape-shipping business. He went on to earn a degree in economics
from Stanford University in 1937 and was drawn to the wine
business, studying oenology at the University of California,
Berkeley.
World War II interrupted his career and he served in the
military, returning to the U.S. in 1946. Four years later he
married Blanche Hurtzig, who died in 2010. The couple had three
children, Marc, Peter Jr. and a daughter, Siena.
In his studies, Peter Mondavi had researched the effects of cold
fermentation on white and rosé wines, which then were being
fermented at higher temperatures which meant they lost their fruity
character through oxidation. He applied what he learned at the
winery to make fresher whites.
Charles Krug was the first Napa Valley winery to import French
oak barrels to use in aging wine and in 1963 was among the first to
vintage-date varietal wines.
Determined to keep the winery in the family despite corporate
buyouts happening throughout the valley—the Robert Mondavi Winery
was sold to Constellation Brands in 2004—Peter Mondavi worked to
preserve the family holdings, investing $24 million over a
nine-year period to replant most of the vineyards and farm them
sustainably. Today, the Peter Mondavi family owns 850 acres of
prime vineyards in the Napa Valley.
Though he didn't run the day-to-day business, Peter Mondavi
continued to be a fixture at the office, climbing the two flights
of stairs to his office even as a centenarian. He credited his
stamina to good genes, hard work, pasta Bolognese—and a daily glass
of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Copyright 2016 Associated Press
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 22, 2016 15:25 ET (20:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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