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Thursday, 21 July 2011
The Post-Recessionary Wine Market is Here
Wine, or at least the high end of the wine market, finds itself in a post-recessionary phase. This is the only message one could take from the ShipCompliant/Wines & Vines presentation given yesterday at the ShipCompliant Direct Shipping Seminar and...
Great Wine Literature...Or Not
Somehow the conversation strayed into "wine and literature." A crew of us wine geeks were gathered for the purposes of enjoying our geekishness when one of our gathering was provoked to ask: "Can someone tell me why there is not...
Experience the aquarium-like environment at the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa
Situated on the southern part of the secluded hilly island of Motu Toopua, the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa is blessed with the turquoise blue sacred lagoon of Polynesia stringed with tiny coral islets and a cove of white sand surrounded by magnificent views of the lava rocks. The resort covers an area [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagablond/ysSN/~3/hLee-iFAgXg/
Social Media Quick Tip: Tag Your Favorite Wine Brands on Facebook
This is old news for some, but if you haven’t explored the status tagging feature (similar to photo tagging) on Facebook, take a few minutes and check it out. Status tagging can help your winery’s Facebook fan page to become more engaging and vibrant.� Facebook users can type the “@” symbol before a Facebook fan [...]
Reminder: WBW 71 Is This Week!
It seems like is was just a few days ago that I announced the next edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday but it has been nearly 3 weeks. So just a friendly reminder that WBW 71, “Rhones Not From The Rh�ne,” is in just two days. And it’s easy to participate; just pick up a wine [...]
Reminder: WBW 71 Is This Week! originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/P5Lljfs40TQ/
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Robert Mondavi Day
Today marks what would have been Robert Mondavi’s 98th birthday, a day before Father’s Day, which is symbolic in its own right not only for the paternal leadership Mondavi provided to the wine industry, but also the lessons he imparted upon his children, the heirs to his legacy, faithfully carried on.
On a recent visit to Indianapolis, at an Italian restaurant that belies its location, tucked between a Junior Achievement and a Wal-Mart in a part of town in need of gentrification, I had lunch with Bob’s son Tim and his sister and partner in Continuum Estate, Marcia Mondavi Borger.
We would dine that day in early April at Capri Ristorante—the progeny of an Indianapolis institution, Amalfi, both opened by Arturo Dirosa who strives to bring the ‘Old Country’ to Indianapolis. Amalfi was Robert Mondavi’s favorite Indianapolis restaurant. He was simpatico with Arturo’s authentic Italian way.
It’s perhaps appropriate that even when they’re not trying, the younger Mondavi’s honor legacy and relationships.
I expected to join a large group of people, maybe a dozen I figured, some distributor hanger-on’ers, a retailer or two and a couple of writerly types. Color me surprised (and a little bit nervous) when I found out I was their only guest.
I’m not much of a star-gazer. Michael Jordan, Frank Sinatra, Lou Holtz and, well, the Mondavi’s are the only people, aside from my own parents, that I put on a pedestal worthy of exemplary admiration.
As Tim held court with Marcia acting as the conversational re-direct when Tim strayed too far afield, as he’s wont to do, we had a delightful lunch that typified why Robert Mondavi, and by extension his family, are my wine touchstone.
Utterly free of any pretense, affable, focused on wine that exhibits where it’s grown, reaching for the pinnacle in quality, a part of the table, family-focused, and exhibiting a sensibility that is concerned with helping your neighbor and doing the right thing, there’s a lot to like about the Mondavi tradition as its carried on by Tim, Marcia and their brother, Michael, a fact that I’ll explore in greater depth in a future column.
While carrying on the family legacy is important, as they’re all involved in new projects, never far from thought though, I imagine, is the sheer impact that their father had on the industry they inherited. By donating over 40 boxes of the elder Mondavi’s papers to UC Davis this week, in a small way, they ensure that Robert Mondavi’s thoughts and ideas, as captured in his ephemera, is accessible in the widest manner possible for the wine industry’s future. I’ve appended a couple of examples below – some personal notes on business and a speech to the Wine Institute circa 1981.
To Robert Mondavi, let us raise a glass of wine in honor of him on this day, what is quickly becoming a national wine holiday.
Salute!
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/robert_mondavi_day/
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