The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty

Current history that reads like a novel. It is a well writen and engrossing look behind the scenes of the American Wine Explosion of the 20th Century. Siler kept me going to the dictionary with her marvelous use of the English (and other) languages. This is current history that reads like a novel. She paints vivid pictures of the Mondavi Family Members and their associates and weaves the story together in what seems to be a fair minded manner. If you love wine and have enjoyed the explosion of the wine industry in this country, you will like this book.One criticism. Siler's editors did a shoddy job of 'fact checking', by identifying the town of Igloo, South Dakota as being in North Dakota. As a Dakota Native, it didn't read right. But the book again forced me to confirm my suspicion, by consulting an atlas. It's a small matter in the big picture, but creates doubt about what else may have been wrongly reported. In the end, I'm willing to look beyond this factual error and hope it was the only such lapse. After all the content deals with much wieghtier issues and I'll have to leave it to those who know those facts to raise any other inconsistencies.

This is a big, sprawling epic of a biography, centered on the legendary vintner and California wine promoter Robert Mondavi but really about the Mondavi family, beginning with Robert's father Cesare, an Italian immigrant.After some bootstrapping struggles in the Minnesota mine fields, Cesare moves his family to California's San Joaquin Valley, where he prospers as a grape wholesaler and bulk winemaker. Family conflicts develop early as Robert and his younger brother Peter compete for their parents' approval, conflicts that build to the point that Robert is ultimately forced from the family's properous Napa Valley winery. The split results in a famous lawsuit which eventually leads to Robert's apotheosis as the head of his own eponymous winery and his role as the elder statesman of California wines.Robert repeats his parents' mistakes in raising his own family, resulting in fights between his two sons for primacy in his winery and the ultimate loss of control of his legacy.Like "Moneyball", which told the story of the success of the Oakland Athletics baseball club, "The House of Mondavi" is about much more that the wine business, and will no doubt find a place on business school reading lists as a cautionary tale of how not to develop a family business. Very readable, it is written with great authority by a former Wall Street Journal reporter. Anyone interested in the wine business, or business and entrepreneurism generally should find it fascinating.

This inside look at the destruction of a once close family and the storied wine business they built is well written and highly entertaining. Sibling rivalry between Robert Mondavi, and his far less talented younger brother Peter form the basis for all the tragedy that is to come.Peter convinces their mother Rosa, who is chairman of the board and the largest stockholder and who opens board meetings in her home and then retires to the kitchen, that Robert must be driven from the company even though he had been the primary architect of their success.Rosa goes one step farther and disinherits Robert, a daughter Helen, and all of their children, thereby assuring mutal animosity for future generations of Mondavi's. The stunningly poor decisions, many of them mean and petty by various family members,but primarily Rosa and Peter, eventually leads to complete family dysfunction. The next generation picks up where Rosa and Peter left off. The golden goose is eventually effectively destroyed. A very good read.

For anyone who is the least bit "into" wine the story of the Mondavi family's impact on the US wine industry and North American tastes can not be understated. The story presented in The House of Mondavi is a compelling look into the successes and the troubles of this fractured family. It is well worth a read both from a historical perspective and simply as a story in its own right.My only complaint is that in my opinion the writing is somewhat uneven in terms of quality. While for the most part it is well put together and the imagery successfully recreates the times, there are some issues with anecdotal references placed out of proper timeline or context. When these occurred, they had me pausing and rereading passages in an attempt to determine the relevance of a phrase or statement. Finding none - I moved on and continued to enjoy the story as a whole.

I don't read a lot of non-fictions in general but this treatment of the Mondavi family and corporation history is such an engaging read. Julia Flynn Siler writes with fluidity that helps the reader navigate this complicated piece of history with ease. I used to wander through Napa Valley tasting wines and have associated the town as a posh vacation spot. It was very interesting for me to read about how the town started with humble vinters and remains largely conservative saved for the marketing efforts initiated by the Mondavi family to elevate the town's image to a high-end destination. I will visit Napa again in the near future, now with new knowledge and appreciation for what goes on behind the scenes. Who knows, maybe I'll even stop by the Court House.

Quite long and detailed. You really need to be interested in this story although engaging and useful to get all the info about auch a relevant wine man

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