Recently Read: The House of Mondavi
If you enjoy wine and are interested in the history of Napa Valley as a winegrowing region and/or the Mondavi saga, Julia Flynn Siler's House of Mondavi is a great read. The book goes back to 1906 when Cesare Mondavi, Robert's father, arrived in the U.S., rolls through the public feuding between Peter and Robert over Charles Krug, and takes the reader right up through the acquisition of Robert Mondavi the public entity by the Sands Brothers. Siler is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and she really appears to have been thorough in her work - the book presents a ton of data and is clearly the result of 100's of interviews with the principal players. It's well written and hard to put down.
I happened to be living in San Francisco at the time of the acquisition of Mondavi, and needless to say this presents a far more detailed story than seems to have emerged previously (though at times it does feel like we're reading an extended version of Us Magazine Napa Valley). It's also amazing to realize how Robert Mondavi the individual changed wine growing in the region. Mondavi was the most visible leader taking the region from its roots in the 60's and 70's as primarily low-end and jug wines to where it sits today - recognized at the top of the industry's great growing worldwide growing regions.
Additionally, stories about folks like Grgich, Barrett, Nickel, Harlan, Ramey and others are interspersed throughout the book, providing pretty interesting tidbits for anyone who follows the Napa Cabernet scene.
All in all, House of Mondavi is a great read. Enjoy.
