Robert Mondavi Case Review
Robert Mondavi Corporation
Robert Mondavi began making wine in Napa Valley in 1943. He started working in the wine industry with his family. He later started his own winery in Oakville, California. Mondavi, along with his two sons, Michael and Timothy, would guide the Robert Mondavi Winery to the strong position the company enjoys today.
Mondavi introduced many new techniques to the California wine industry that included cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks, and the use of small French oak barrels to age fine wine. To stimulate the consumption of fine wine, Mondavi hosted many tours and educational events. He also established the Great Chefs program; the first winery culinary program in the U.S. Mondavi also launched television and radio advertising at the turn of the 21st century.
Mondavi takes great pride in the winemaking process. Mondavi uses natural techniques throughout the entire grape growing and winemaking process. They have also introduced many environmentally friendly farming and winemaking practices over the years. Most of the grapes (63%) for Robert Mondavi Winery (RMW) label are obtained from company vineyards. This ensures that the quality of grapes are the highest for RMW.
The Mondavi Company owned and leased 9,700 acres of vineyards in California, while joint ventures accounted for an additional 1,600 acres in Chile, Italy, and California. These vineyards accounted for approximately 7% of the company’s total grape supply in FY2001.
By the year 2005, Mondavi plans to increase internal grape sourcing to 25%. The remainder of the grapes comes from 360 independent growers, 100 of who ...