One
man's passion that spans over seven decades and makes
him into a revered, living legend;
A loving family that grows with the dream and makes
it their own;
A sister's betrayal;
A son who tries too hard to fill his father's shoes;
One family's meteoric rise to fame and all that comes
with it;
Greed; the heartache of filial betrayal; the allure
of power; the well-timed manipulations of corporate
vultures.....
All perfect ingredients for a classic Bollywood tear-jerker.
In fact, when you actually read The House of
Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty,
it would not be too hard to visualize the Big B playing
the role of the Mighty M, Robert Mondavi, once-Czar
of the California wine industry. Shahrukh Khan could
well essay the role of the crown prince, Michael Mondavi,
and Abhishek Bacchan. would do justice to Timothy Mondavi's
character. Personally, I would pay good money to watch
a pony-tailed Shahrukh Khan roaring down the quaint
streets of Napa on a Harley Davidson, as Michael Mondavi
was wont to do in his younger, wilder days!
This true, ultra 'filmi' saga has played out at the
other end of the world, in the now-famous region of
California's Napa Valley, for over 30 years and the
major players are the very people who put Napa Valley
on the wine map of the world, the Mondavi family.
Author Julia Flynn Siler chronicles the saga of four
generations of Mondavis, a story that began a hundred
years ago and reached its zenith in the late '90s when
the family lost control of its own business. It also
sheds light on numerous scandals and controversies that
have dogged the First Family of the American wine industry
since even before Robert Mondavi first opened the winery
in the mid-sixties.
For instance, Siler describes in detail the drama behind
the ousting of Michael Mondavi as the Chairman of the
family's wine business:
While his son Michael was managing the business as
CEO, Robert had pledged $35 million to
UC Davis to help create an institute for wine and food
science. This pledge was largely backed by the value
of Robert's stock in the company. But the unthinkable
happened and the value of the stock plummeted to dangerous
levels and threatened to destroy Robert financially.
He tried, and failed, to re-negotiate the terms of his
pledge with UC Davis. At this critical juncture, the
Company's outside directors manipulated events to their
advantage and ultimately succeeded in divesting Michael
of the company's leadership. The sad fact was that this
move was backed by Michael's sister, Marcia as well
as Robert himself, in the hope that a new leadership
would revive the family's stock value and help Robert
out of a potentially embarrassing situation.
The book is peppered with such soap-opera-like events
and has come under fire for leaning heavily toward the
more sensational aspects of the story rather than focusing
on the immense legacy that Robert Mondavi has, without
a doubt, endowed the Californian wine industry with
and the very real struggles that the family has endured
thus far.
The former public relations director of the Mondavi
company, Harvey Posert, echoes this sentiment and called
the book 'mean-spirited'. The denizens of Napa, who
view the Mondavi clan as resident royalty, are none
too pleased either with old history being dredged up.
Fact or fiction; true story or elegantly disguised
tabloid journalism; whatever the case may be, the publishers
are laughing all the way to the bank. The hype created
for the book is immense and it is currently retailing
at $28 in bookstores across the United States. Discounts
of around 35% are available on websites like Amazon.com
The bottom line is, The House of Mondavi: The Rise
and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty , makes for interesting
reading. After all, even enjoying Bollywood films call
for a suspension of disbelief! So read it in that spirit
and decide for yourself whether you should send a copy
to Karan Johar.
Natasha Vohra
San Francisco
June 21, 2007
Ms. Natasha Vohra is a wine connoisseur and a writer
who has moved from Mumbai to San Francisco. She can
be reached at nat.vohra@gmail.com - editor
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