Good Grape Wine Company

July 18 2007

The House of Mondavi

I finished reading The House of Mondavi:  The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, a book widely hailed by most reviewers as a an excellent, well-researched and gripping portrait of the vision that lead Robert Mondavi and his family in bringing the modern U.S. wine business to its place as a respected and equal member at the world wine table.

This is an excellent book and reads as a Greek tragedy where the mistakes of the past are destined to be repeated.  I highly recommend it for any reader of this blog, interested in the Mondavi story, or simply interested in a rags-to-riches family saga set against the backdrop of the American wine industry.

A small cadre of reviewers have tried to discredit the book by asserting that the author had contempt for her subjects, that the entire premise of the book and the reason that the Mondavi winery was lost to Constellation is based on false pretenses and that the human foibles of the Mondavi family are juxtaposed in a way that is unflattering.  But, on the whole, those reviews ring hollow when you consider the sheer amount of research that the author, Julia Flynn Siler, did for the book—almost 400 footnotes broken out by chapter, almost 90 interview subjects, encompassing thousands of hours, including principals from the Mondavi family on multiple occasions, and a bibliography of depth and repute. 

Make no mistake, this is a well-researched book.  In any analysis of a situation, the sum of our experiences impacts our perspective and it seems likely that this is as close to the objective truth as we’re going to get.

What this book is, and ultimately the likely source of the dissenting book review opinions, is a very human portrait of the family; detailed without muckraking. The author thoughtfully includes parts of the Mondavi human condition into the book to lift the veil on the family, and also bring some level of humanity to the story. 

Though we see the family through a finely rendered personality filter, it is not a complete rendering of the human being, more impressionistic than finely detailed oil painting.  In a story driven by family history and events, Siler does a fine job of not letting the characters get in the way of the story—giving us a glimpse into the broad character traits of the players in the book, however broad brushed they may ultimately be.

Robert Mondavi is the visionary, sometimes quick to criticize, he of unyieldingly high standards, the chief drum beater for the winery and one with an admiring eye for women, all women.

Margrit Biever, Mondavi’s second wife, is the worldly bon vivant who captured his heart, while creating questions in the family on her pureness of intention in pursuing Mondavi.  Assertions are made that Bob’s philanthropic largesse was her attempt at wielding influence in the twilight of their years, after long being relegated to accepted sidekick, but not accepted family.

Michael Mondavi, Robert’s eldest son, loyal and chief aid in building the business since the 1960’s is cast, perhaps, the least fully and shown to be motivated by money and self-interest while making risky business decisions that were not fully thought through. 

Timothy Mondavi, Robert’s youngest son, the winemaker, sensitive, emotional, mercurial and prone to capriciousness.

One of the morals of this story, aside from the lessons learned from the business, is the unblinking reality that working with family is tough and communication is even tougher—lots of letter writing and 6 month sabbaticals in the Mondavi family.  And, as we near the end of the book, we see the fractured family from three generations, despite the circumstances that have driven them to different directions, still making an effort to unify, and come together, however limited that may be.

I see the Mondavi’s and this story of their life as one of redemption—Michael and Timothy both have new family projects and Robert Mondavi, in declining years, is still hailed as THE visionary for the modern wine industry.  The wine industry to me is like the NBA—the NBA is good when a New York or Los Angeles team are doing well.  Likewise, the wine industry is good when a Mondavi is leading the way.  Greek tragedy?  Perhaps, not.  Maybe this is an Indian allegory with the Phoenix rising from the ashes and perhaps a second edition to this book will have the subtitle:  The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of an American Wine Dynasty.

And, even if not, this excellent book casts considerable light and does little to sully the reputation of the wine industry’s First Family.

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