Good Grape Wine Company

June 19 2008

Mondavi Rejoinder

When Robert Mondavi passed away last month, I was taken by the virtual moment of silence that many bloggers offered, seemingly independent of one another.  It was a compendium of respectful thoughts paid by people that understand what Mondavi meant to the U.S. wine industry culture over the course of the last 40 + years.

Mondavi was THE figure in U.S. wine, his influence casting a shadow unmatched by any other peer.  His family saga creating a tableau for the wine public to watch, a human diorama that, unfortunately, sometimes eclipsed the enormous good he did in bringing wine out of French restaurants and into our homes.

And, likewise, it was with an equal amount of surprise that I saw some bloggers publicly noting that they did not understand why all this attention was being given to Mondavi upon his passing. 

Certainly, in many respects, it lessens the credibility of those bloggers in my eyes.  To not know and respect Robert Mondavi is akin to calling yourself a basketball fan, but not knowing what Michael Jordan means to the game.  Or, perhaps, listening to the Count Basie Orchestra and wondering what the fuss is about Sinatra and the “Rat Pack.”

Maybe these were innocent and benign scribbles.  But, as Harry Truman said, “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.”

In a culture short on culture and even shorter on memory, I would urge those that do not know about Mondavi to learn something new.

The Press-Democrat has a nice article on a Mondavi today, reporting on a gathering at his namesake winery on what would have been his 95th birthday, a band playing “Volare,” said to be a favorite of Mondavi’.

In a final honor to Mondavi, I offer another moment of silence and “Volare” from Dean Martin.

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