Peter Mondavi Sr. (November 8, 1914 – February 20, 2016) was an American winemaker. Born to

Italian immigrants The Italian diaspora is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy. There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history. The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Risorgimento, Unification of Italy, and ended in the ...

Cesare and Rosa Mondavi, as the youngest of four children, he moved from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Lodi, California Lodi ( ) is a city located in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, in the center portion of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 62,134 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cen ...

in 1922, when his father began a firm transporting grapes during the Prohibition. He graduated in Economics from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1937 and began further study in Enology at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, disrupted by his service in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His parents bought the

Charles Krug Charles Krug (1825–1892) was among the pioneers of winemaking in the Napa Valley, California, and was the founder of the Charles Krug Winery. Biography Charles Krug visited the United States from Prussia in 1847, and became a citizen in 1852. ...

winery in

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

in 1943, and on his father's death sixteen years later, the business was split between Peter Mondavi and his brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. The two fought, and the latter founded his own eponymous winery in 1966. They reconciled in 2005 and made a new wine together. Mondavi was recognised by ''

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

'' as one of the "Napa Mavericks" who pioneered the industry in the valley. Mondavi married Blanche Hurtzig after his military service, and they remained together until her death in 2010. They had two sons and a daughter, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He died of natural causes aged 101 in

St. Helena, California St. Helena ( ; Wappo language, Wappo: ''Anakotanoma'') is a city in Napa County, California, Napa County, in the Wine Country of California. Located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the ...

. He credited his longevity to genes, hard work, pasta and a daily glass of wine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mondavi, Peter 1914 births 2016 deaths People from Lodi, California People from St. Helena, California American winemakers American people of Italian descent Stanford University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni American centenarians Men centenarians