Congrats, Mr. Mondavi
Peter Mondavi Sr. will be inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame on February 20th at a festive celebration at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley.
You are welcome to post congratulations to Mr. Mondavi, and memories of his 70-plus at Charles Krug on the winery’s Facebook page.
We will present all comments to Mr. Mondavi in an oversized card after the induction.
From the Vintners Hall: For showing just how fresh and fruity California wine can be, few vintners have been as instructive as Peter Mondavi, Sr.
Studious and quiet, he often transformed theory into practice, establishing new standards for the wine trade. In 1937, while still a university student, he researched cold fermentation, and his subsequent use of the technique and of sterile filtration improved, virtually overnight, the cleanliness and crispness of California white wines. For 68 years he’s continued his experimental ways at Charles Krug Winery. He was among the first to use French oak barrels. He was the first to release Chenin Blanc as a varietal. He was the first to install glass-lined steel tanks, thereby better showcasing the state’s fruit, slowing maturation of wines and prolonging their lives. He was an early advocate of the centrifuge and of fermenting Chardonnay in oak barrels. Early in his tenure at Charles Krug, the industry’s first winery newsletter debuted. He began tastings for distributors, restaurateurs and consumers that became the model for the industry. And he was one of the early growers to see in the Carneros district an accommodating home for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot At 96, he’s still at it.
