House of Mondavi

Description

An epic, scandal-plagued story of the immigrant family that built and then spectacularly lost a global wine empire

Set in California s lush Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, “The House of Mondavi” is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp. s twenty-first-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama.

The blood feuds are as spectacular as the business triumphs. Cesare s sons, Robert and Peter, literally came to blows in the 1960s during a dispute touched off by the purchase of a mink coat, resulting in Robert s exile from the family and his subsequent founding of a winery that would set off a revolution in American winemaking. Robert s sons, Michael and Timothy, as passionate in their own ways as their visionary father, waged battle with each other for control of the company before Michael s expansive ambitions ultimately led to a board coup and the sale of the business to an international conglomerate.

A meticulously reported narrative based on thousands of hours of interviews, “The House of Mondavi”is bound to become a classic.”