Robert Mondavi, regional performing arts patron dead at 94

Robert Mondavi is legendary in the development of the California wine industry. In 1966, he, his elder son, R. Michael Mondavi, and family founded the Robert Mondavi Winery in the Napa Valley with the goal of producing wines that would rival the finest wines of Europe.

Robert's wife, Margrit Biever Mondavi, who joined the winery in 1967, is vice president of cultural affairs. She has long shared her husband's passion for uniting wine with fine art, music and culinary artistry.

The two are visionary founders and major benefactors behind COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, a world-class center celebrating the bounty of the American table, which opened November, 2001 in the town of Napa. Robert and Margrit are also founding supporters of the restoration of the 19th Century Napa Valley Opera House and the Oxbow School, a new art school in Napa that provides grants and instruction to art students in their junior year of high school. They have contributed to the restoration of the Lincoln Theatre in Yountville, CA, and have supported the Cantor Art Center at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA.

The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center explores the full range of the performing arts, from the traditional to the innovative, and from diverse cultures and disciplines through presentation, education, public service, and research. As part of the UC Davis mission as a land grant university, Mondavi Center provides outstanding cultural programming, support for the University's academic departments, and a professional laboratory to train students in the performing arts. Mondavi Center is committed to maintaining state-of-the art, world-class performance facilities and providing the highest quality experience for both artists and audiences. The mandate of Mondavi Center is to maintain a balance between regional responsibility, fiscal responsibility, artistic integrity, and the educational mission of the University of California.

From sacbee.com:

Robert Mondavi, the pioneering vintner who put California wine country on the global map, has died. He was 94.

Mondavi died peacefully at his home in Yountville on Friday, said Mia Malm, spokeswoman for the Robert Mondavi Winery.

An enthusiastic ambassador for the health benefits of moderate consumption of wine, and of California wine in particular, Mondavi had traveled the world into his 90s, promoting the cultural and social benefits of wine.

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