Late wine icon Robert Mondavi looms large in Napa

By Mary Milliken

ST. HELENA, California (Reuters Life!) - As thousands of wine lovers milled around Napa Valley this month for the annual wine auction, the man who put Napa on the world's wine map nearly four decades ago was on many minds.

Robert Mondavi died in May at the age of 94 at his Napa Valley home and auction organizers and friends were intent on reminding visitors and vintners that they had the winemaking pioneer to thank for much of their good wine and lifestyle.

At the most popular tasting of the auction weekend, a picture of Mondavi wearing a coat made of corks greeted visitors who were asked to write in a commemorative book.

"We would not be here without Robert, enjoying ourselves," said vintner Ron Kuhn, a businessman from Illinois who moved to Napa and started Pillar Rock Vineyard 10 years ago.

Mondavi, the son of Italian immigrants, first learned about grape-growing from his father but then traveled the world to learn the best winemaking techniques. He founded the Robert Mondavi winery in Napa Valley in 1966 and help put California on the path to its first world-class wines that could compete with the best of Europe.

Back then, there were only a few dozen wineries in Napa compared to 400 today. Mondavi was known for sharing his innovation and resources with the newcomers over the decades.

"We are here today because of our exposure to Robert Mondavi back in the seventies," said David Freed, who owns a company that has 10,000 acres of California vineyards. "We've been real devotees of Robert and what he has done for our industry."

Mondavi and Swiss wife Margrit, who survives him, also embodied the Napa lifestyle with their promotion of fine dining and entertaining among the vines of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay grapes.

Mondavi had been in ill health for some years. But for the 28th edition of the Auction Napa Valley, which he founded, friends and family assembled a lot for the charity event -- a dinner for 95 people with nine of Mondavi's favorite wineries and five top chefs.

After a video tribute and a toast by his brother Peter, with whom Robert famously feuded for decades, bidders spent $840,000 for the dinner invites, less than organizers had expected.

The June 28 dinner was meant to celebrate Mondavi's 95th birthday this month.

"It has changed from a birthday celebration to a celebration of his life, but we know he would always prefer a party to a wake," said Garen Staglin, owner of Staglin Family Vineyard.

(Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)