The House of Mondavi

Description

The rise and fall of the family that put Napa Valley on the map. The House of Mondavi by Julia Flynn Siler is an epic business biography: the Italian immigrant family that made American wine world-class — and then lost the company they built.

The story begins in 1906, when Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, and runs through Prohibition, the 1943 purchase of the Charles Krug winery, and the family rupture of 1966 — when Robert Mondavi struck out on his own with a bold mission: to prove American wines could rival the finest of France. Siler tells it with a novelist’s pacing and a reporter’s rigor: ambition, betrayal, and some of the finest wine ever made.

For wine lovers and business readers alike. A Godfather with grapes — and it’s all true. Siler tells it like a novel because it was one — ambition, betrayal, and great wine.

The House of Mondavi

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty by Julia Flynn Siler is an epic business biography of the Italian immigrant family that put Napa Valley on the world wine map — and then lost the company they built.

The story begins in 1906, when Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, and follows the family through Prohibition and the 1943 purchase of the Charles Krug winery. In 1966, after a bitter falling-out with his brother, Robert Mondavi struck out on his own, founding the winery that bore his name with a bold mission: to prove that American wines could rival the finest of France.

Siler, a longtime journalist, writes with a reporter’s eye for drama. She chronicles Robert Mondavi’s tireless crusade for quality and his visionary marketing, then turns to the family feuds — between brothers Michael and Timothy, and between generations — that divided the boardroom. The tale ends with the stunning 2004 sale of the Robert Mondavi Corporation to a corporate giant, closing a century of family rule.

Rich with California history, wine lore, and boardroom intrigue, this is essential reading for wine lovers, business-history readers, and anyone fascinated by family dynasties and the price of legacy.