Robert Mondavi Tribute

The Official Robert Mondavi Tribute 

Artemis Film YouTube channel

The official tribute to Robert Mondavi

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Fittingly, Robert Mondavi wrote the foreward to 'Wine Heritage: The Story of Italian-American Vintners' (2000; Dick Rosano). You can get a used hardcover for a couple of bucks. Wine Heritage is the story of Italian immigrants whose descendants now dominate American wine making.

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This is a fantastic reference book. I had no idea what a elaborate web the italians have weaved in the US. Everyone knows about the Mondavi and Gallo families but who would have thought that so many italian winemakers exist in so many states. An added feature of this book is the winery profile section in the back. This is not typical for a history book. You get the history and the acumen of a very knowledgeable wine reviewer who used to write for the Washington Post. 

I was a devoted Rosano reader when he wrote for the Post and really felt the quality of wine writing for that paper declined significantly when he left. This compelling story doesn't include wine reviews but adds an interesting aspect above and beyond the average history book. I am a winemaker and read just about anything I can get my grape stained hands on about the subject. This is a book for everyone interested in the noble grape or just loves drinking the stuff. Take my advice and run, don't walk to the store to get it, then leave it out somewhere on a table and pick it up from time to time while enjoying a nice class of Sangiovese.
 
--Eric Daniel Weinstein, book review

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I was going to add one more book that someone told me about. It was about the history of the Napa wine industry, with a focus on the Mondavi family, but when I tried to search it on Amazon.com... there were hundreds of books about all aspects of Napa wine.

When Robert Mondavi first made a name for himself in Napa, many people in the world did not even believe that Napa wines were in the same class as in the South of France or Tuscany. He was a big part of changing that attitude to reality, and eventually to what is today a thirty-five billion a year industry in California.. and still growing.

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California Wine 2013

Yesterday, the San Francisco Chronicle published its annual 'California Wine' section. It was subtitled 'Sunny days - Now's the best time in years to enjoy the state's bounty.' In it were numerous articles about regional wines, corresponding foods, fall events, wine tasting, and different grapes. Unfortunately, this group of articles isn't available as a separate section online; but here is the link to their "wine" homepage.

No aspect of regional northern California culture brings out more the long standing local Cisalpine heritage than the wine industry. Not just the older wineries, but newer ones; as well as Cisalpines who came here in later times like Robert Mondavi. One of the wineries featured is the Fanucchi Vineyards in Fresno County.

In one of the articles entitled 'A toast to California wines', it states "California wine is booming as never before. You can see it clearly in the numbers. As we'll relate in the following pages, the state's wine industry remains on a nearly two-decde surge of popularity, accounting for more than $34 billion in sales last year."

In another article from the section entitled 'California wine enjoys a long boom', a sub-section shows the following facts:
*California's wine economy
-$61.5 billion in overall economic impact in the state
-330,000 jobs generated
-$12.3 billion in wages
-$14.7 billion generated in state and federal taxes

I often like to try foreign wines, and it's easy for for locals to forget that we live in very likely the best wine producing region in the world. One interesting development in recent years has been the growth of wine in Sonoma County; although I don't really know if it actually comes close to challenging the famous Napa County wine region in sales. Another interesting aspect of this industry is that there are big growers who don't even have a label of their own, and find it profitable enough in the farming end of the business.

The wine community of Lodi in the Central Valley--a city named after Lodi, Lombardy--had a full page ad to promote their wines, with their website LodiWine.com. If you're near a Chronicle distributor, you could just walk in and purchase the Sunday paper of August 26; especially if you wanted to attend some of the late Summer and Fall events. I find sfgate.com to be hard to search and navigate. Lastly, St. Helena is the heart of the wine industry in North America. It truly is a great place to visit. Our people were predominant in making this industry from it's inception.

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Italian Swiss Colony reopens as Asti Winery

I had put a lot of the history of the Italian Swiss Colony on an old website, but may have lost it. We'll have to start posting some of that history. Several years ago the winery reopened under the name Asti Winery.

From the video description:

Located on the original property of Asti Winery, located in Northern Sonoma County, Cellar No. 8 pays tribute to the propertys rich history. You might know Asti Winery as the once-famed "Italian Swiss Colony," founded in 1881 by Andrea Sbarboro, who formed an entire community, with other Italian and Swiss immigrants, around the art of winemaking. They focused on using time-honored methods and techniques from the 'Old Country.

In the 1960's, the Italian Swiss Colony was the second largest tourist attraction in California, next to Disneyland. In fact, there are many stories of friends who visited this historic winery as children, whose parents had made Asti Winery a regular vacation destination in Northern California. This was a grand place in its day, which hosted many parties for the California elite, including top government officials.

The Asti Winery has always been a working winery, but only recently reopened its doors to the public as home to Cellar No. 8. Paul Rydquist, Winemaker for Cellar No. 8, prides himself on using traditional winemaking techniques, and handcrafting rich, complex wines from carefully chosen vineyards, making wines in a way that Andrea Sbarboro would approve.

Cellar No. 8 wines are rich in flavor, approachable and affordable. With two different labels and price points, there is something for every palate and pocket. The White Label produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, priced at $10 and is readily available at liquor stores and grocery outlets. The Black Label ranges in price from $15-$25 and can be found at the winery or at Cellar 360 in San Francisco cellar360.com

Cellar No. 8 invites you to visit them at their beautiful historic location and taste a part of California history in their wines. They offer tours daily and encourage you to enjoy a picnic on the beautiful grounds overlooking the scenic palm trees and hills. What better place to escape?

YouTube channel fatbellytraveler

www.cellarno8.com

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Villa Toscano Winery in Amador County

The Villa Toscano Winery was featured on this weeks In Wine Country, which airs on Sunday evening on local NBC affiliates. In fact, you may watch the program on their website InWineCountry.com throughout the week. Actually, the "wine country" is not just Napa County, but a much larger region of Northern California. Also, the above image is not the Villa Tuscany. The winery is located in Plymouth, California, which has a population of less than one thousand. The program showed the winery as a very pleasant place to visit. Beyond a place to wine taste, purchase wine, or take a tour; it's a place to have lunch at their bistro, enjoy a massage, or walk off on your own along the vinyards. They seem to even have some rooms for rent.
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