The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty
by Julia Flynn Siler
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Book Summary Information
Author: Julia Flynn SilerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-01
ISBN: 1592403670
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Gotham
Book Reviews of The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty
Book Review: Crushing Blood from Grapes
Summary: 5 Stars
Wine, history, business, and scandal - there's something for most every taste in "The House of Mondavi", a spell binding chronicle of the Mondavi's rise from immigrant miners in the cold and barren north slopes of Minnesota to striking liquid gold in California's Napa Valley - building a name synonymous with bringing fine wine and a bit of class to America's tables. But Julia Flynn Siler's saga is no fairy tale, and is as far from a family puff piece as White Zin is from Bordeaux. The author pulls no punches and leaves no skeletons safely locked behind closet doors in a story as much about greed as it is about grapes. While the 80's TV mini-series "Falcon Crest" may have been loosely based on the Mondavi dynasty, the antics of the real Mondavi's make their soap opera counterparts about as scandalous as an episode of "Father Knows Best".
Siler's well-researched tale starts in 1906, when Robert Mondavi's parents, Cesare Mondavi and Rosa Grassi Mondavi, arrive from Italy, and loses little time in getting the Mondavi's to California - initially in the Central Valley town of Lodi before landing in Napa's St. Helena. It is a time when the world's great wine is made in France, when American tastes favor beer and whisky, and only the occasion wine - as long as it is syrupy-sweet and drank from the jug. But while the Mondavi family deftly navigated through eleven years of Prohibition and the Great Depression that followed, the family was torn asunder through massive egos, jealously, and greed, highlighted by the rift between brothers Robert and Peter, lasting an entire lifetime. The Mondavi's could have been the poster kids for dysfunction families, a schizophrenic group who seemed the loving and stereotypical close knit Italian family, while passing on sibling rivalry, consciously or unconsciously encouraged by otherwise doting parents, across multiple generations. Anyone who's ever enjoyed a bottle of Charles Krug or Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, or the value brand Woodbridge wines, or splurged for the classic Opus One will delight in the Valley's eccentric history and the Mondavi family's mark on it, from the early days of farmers sending bulk wine back east, to the love and peace and everything goes culture of the 60's and 70's, to today's cult wines and glitzy charity auctions. The rise from a private family business, to the most successful publicly traded Napa Valley brand, to the eventual acquisition by Constellation brands, is a terrific lesson management decisions both smart and horrific, and a primer on the pitfalls of working in a family-owner enterprise.
Siler sets an impressive table, not ducking the affairs and bitterness and petty disputes that separated families, while at the same time capturing the humor and the pathos that became, despite the obstacles, a great American success story. On one hand, it is a tribute to the marketing genius and perseverance of Robert Mondavi, but also a lesson on how unchecked commitment to a vision can harm those closest to you. In short, a riveting chapter of Americana well told - not to be missed.
Summary of The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty
The New York Times bestseller, now in paperback: a scandal-plagued story of the immigrant family that built?and then lost?a global wine empire Set in California?s lush Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, The House of Mondavi is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp.?s twenty-first-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn Siler brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama. A meticulously reported narrative based on more than five hundred hours of interviews, The House of Mondavi is a modern classic.Business Books
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