Margrit Mondavi
Encyclopedia
Margrit Biever Mondavi is Vice President of Cultural Affairs at Robert Mondavi Winery. A pioneering woman of the modern-day California wine industry, she joined the winery in 1967, pursuing a life-long interest in uniting wine with fine arts, music and culinary artistry. Under her direction, Robert Mondavi Winery developed original cultural and culinary arts programs that are now benchmarks for the wine world."She created a showplace for painters, sculptors, photographers, jazz and classical musicians and the great chefs and winemakers of the world," said Robert G. Mondavi.
, Switzerland
, Margrit (born 1926) was raised in her family home overlooking Lake Maggiore
, in the canton of Ticino
. Margrit’s aesthetic nature was nurtured by parents with a passion for opera and symphonic music, good wine and fine food.
Once or twice a year, her family took the train to Milan
for an evening of opera at La Scala
. Her mother was a fine cook and avid gardener, and her father kept a treasured wine cellar.
“My father gave my brother, sister and me an appreciation of just the right Beaujolais or Fendant, telling us stories
about the wine regions and vintages. He made wine something special,” said Margrit.
She studied art at Minusio, an art school in Switzerland, under a professor who had been a student of Hans Hoffman.
“I had a dream to show wine with art, music and food,” said Margrit, who is a working artist.
“We began modestly, with a Sunday art show under the arches, accompanied by wine and food.”
Gradually, the fine arts program evolved to the stature it holds today, with Margrit encouraging talented unknown artists
and supporting established ones such as Richard Diebenkorn
, Wayne Thiebaud
and Nathan Oliveira
.
, R&B and pop
artists. Headliners have included Ella Fitzgerald
, Harry Belafonte
and Tony Bennett
.
The Mondavi Summer Jazz Festival always opens with the famed New Orleans Jazz Band Preservation Hall
. “I am very proud we have contributed to the success of the Napa Valley Symphony through our annual donation,” said Margrit. “Now this beautiful valley has a beautiful symphony.”
; the renovated opera house opened in October 2002.
“Like painting and music, wine and food speak to the heart,” said Margrit. “By honoring the world of the senses, of memory and emotions, the rites of the table express our humanity.” The respect for California wines that has resulted from this program, especially among European chefs like Paul Bocuse and Jean Troisgros, give Margrit a great sense of pride.
In May 2003, Margrit and her daughter Annie Roberts, then the Robert Mondavi Winery’s executive chef, released a collection of their recipes and stories called Annie and Margrit: Recipes and Stories from the Robert Mondavi Kitchen (Ten Speed Press) to rave reviews. In early 2004, the mother-daughter team took home the 2003 Gourmand World Cookbook Award
s’ “Best in the World” distinction in the “Best Easy Recipes Book” category.
since 1980, Margrit traveled with him around the world. Upholding the family’s philosophy that all the arts contribute to an enhanced quality of life, the couple worked together as founding patrons of COPIA
: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts. Margrit played a key role in securing the downtown Napa
location for the center, which opened in November 2001, sparking the artistic life of the city.
In 1997, Mondavi and his wife issued a challenge grant of $2.2 million to spur the reconstruction of the Napa Valley Opera House
in Napa. The Mondavis were also major patrons of the restoration of the Lincoln Theatre in Yountville which was reopened in early 2005.
Also in 2001, Margrit and Robert made a substantial personal gift to the University of California at Davis to establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, and to launch the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts which opened in October 2002. In addition, the couple continue to support the Oxbow School
, a new art school in Napa that gives grants to and provides instruction for art students in their junior year of high school.
The collection includes table and kitchen linens, wine sleeves and bottles containing Robert Mondavi Winery’s olive oil and wine vinegar; these items are available at the winery.
Childhood in Switzerland
A native of AppenzellAppenzell
Appenzell is a region and historical canton in the northeast of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the Canton of St. Gallen....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Margrit (born 1926) was raised in her family home overlooking Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
, in the canton of Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
. Margrit’s aesthetic nature was nurtured by parents with a passion for opera and symphonic music, good wine and fine food.
Once or twice a year, her family took the train to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
for an evening of opera at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
. Her mother was a fine cook and avid gardener, and her father kept a treasured wine cellar.
“My father gave my brother, sister and me an appreciation of just the right Beaujolais or Fendant, telling us stories
about the wine regions and vintages. He made wine something special,” said Margrit.
She studied art at Minusio, an art school in Switzerland, under a professor who had been a student of Hans Hoffman.
Working at the Mondavi Winery
When Margrit started working at Robert Mondavi Winery, there were very few visitors frequenting Napa Valley.“I had a dream to show wine with art, music and food,” said Margrit, who is a working artist.
“We began modestly, with a Sunday art show under the arches, accompanied by wine and food.”
Gradually, the fine arts program evolved to the stature it holds today, with Margrit encouraging talented unknown artists
and supporting established ones such as Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Diebenkorn was a well-known 20th century American painter. His early work is associated with Abstract expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. His later work were instrumental to his achievement of worldwide acclaim.-Biography:Richard Clifford Diebenkorn Jr...
, Wayne Thiebaud
Wayne Thiebaud
Wayne Thiebaud is an American painter whose most famous works are of cakes, pastries, boots, toilets, toys and lipsticks. He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, although his works, executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predate...
and Nathan Oliveira
Nathan Oliveira
Nathan Oliveira was an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor, born in Oakland, California to Portuguese parents...
.
Margrit Founded the Mondavi Winery's Summer Music Festival
Margrit founded the winery’s popular Summer Music Festival in 1969 as a benefit for the Napa Valley Symphony. This concert series has hosted some of the world’s most recognized jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, R&B and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
artists. Headliners have included Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
and Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
.
The Mondavi Summer Jazz Festival always opens with the famed New Orleans Jazz Band Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
. “I am very proud we have contributed to the success of the Napa Valley Symphony through our annual donation,” said Margrit. “Now this beautiful valley has a beautiful symphony.”
Winter Classical Concert at the Mondavi Winery
In 1984, the Festival of Winter Classical Concert Series was created, with the proceeds benefiting local musical organizations like the Napa Valley Opera. Together with Veronica di Rosa, Margrit and a small group of other dedicated Napa Valley art lovers formed a board of directors to rebuild the original 19th-century opera house in the city of Napa. She organized fundraising events, including art auctions, to keep the opera house alive. In 1998, the opera raised significant funds for the restoration as part of a challenge grant from Margrit and Robert MondaviRobert Mondavi
Robert Gerald Mondavi was a leading California vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi aggressively promoted labeling wines varietally rather than...
; the renovated opera house opened in October 2002.
Margrit Introduced Cooking Classes at the Mondavi Winery
After ten years at the winery, Margrit introduced a program of cooking classes to develop guests’ appreciation of great food paired with fine wine. She introduced the Great Chefs of France and the Great Chefs of America programs—internationally respected culinary series that are now known simply as Great Chefs at Robert Mondavi Winery.“Like painting and music, wine and food speak to the heart,” said Margrit. “By honoring the world of the senses, of memory and emotions, the rites of the table express our humanity.” The respect for California wines that has resulted from this program, especially among European chefs like Paul Bocuse and Jean Troisgros, give Margrit a great sense of pride.
Margrit's Award Winning Cookbook Annie and Margrit
In May 2003, Margrit and her daughter Annie Roberts, then the Robert Mondavi Winery’s executive chef, released a collection of their recipes and stories called Annie and Margrit: Recipes and Stories from the Robert Mondavi Kitchen (Ten Speed Press) to rave reviews. In early 2004, the mother-daughter team took home the 2003 Gourmand World Cookbook Award
Gourmand World Cookbook Award
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards were founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau.In 2008, books from 102 countries participated in the competition...
s’ “Best in the World” distinction in the “Best Easy Recipes Book” category.
Margrit and Robert Mondavi's Philanthropy
Married to Robert MondaviRobert Mondavi
Robert Gerald Mondavi was a leading California vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi aggressively promoted labeling wines varietally rather than...
since 1980, Margrit traveled with him around the world. Upholding the family’s philosophy that all the arts contribute to an enhanced quality of life, the couple worked together as founding patrons of COPIA
COPIA
COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts was a cultural museum and education center dedicated to the discovery, understanding, and celebration of wine, food and the arts in American culture. COPIA was located in the Napa Valley in the town of Napa, California...
: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts. Margrit played a key role in securing the downtown Napa
Napa, California
-History:The name Napa was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and cougars for many centuries, according to Napa historian Kami Santiago. At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the...
location for the center, which opened in November 2001, sparking the artistic life of the city.
In 1997, Mondavi and his wife issued a challenge grant of $2.2 million to spur the reconstruction of the Napa Valley Opera House
Napa Valley Opera House
The Napa Valley Opera House is a theatre in Napa, California, USA. It opened on February 13, 1880 with a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. At the time, the town had a population of 5,000 people...
in Napa. The Mondavis were also major patrons of the restoration of the Lincoln Theatre in Yountville which was reopened in early 2005.
Also in 2001, Margrit and Robert made a substantial personal gift to the University of California at Davis to establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, and to launch the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts which opened in October 2002. In addition, the couple continue to support the Oxbow School
Oxbow School
The Oxbow School is a private single semester arts school for high school juniors and seniors located in Napa, California, sitting near an oxbow of the Napa River...
, a new art school in Napa that gives grants to and provides instruction for art students in their junior year of high school.
Margrit the Working Artist
A working artist, Margrit chooses watercolors, crayons and acrylic paints as her media, drawing upon artifacts for inspiration. Applying her talent to commercial design, she created a line of home accessory designs exclusively for Robert Mondavi Winery.The collection includes table and kitchen linens, wine sleeves and bottles containing Robert Mondavi Winery’s olive oil and wine vinegar; these items are available at the winery.
Margrit Mondavi, an Accomplished Linguist
An accomplished linguist, Margrit often translated her husband’s speeches for international audiences. Margrit enjoys bringing the family together with her cooking, and ensures each mealtime is a true celebration.See also
- COPIACOPIACOPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts was a cultural museum and education center dedicated to the discovery, understanding, and celebration of wine, food and the arts in American culture. COPIA was located in the Napa Valley in the town of Napa, California...
- Oxbow SchoolOxbow SchoolThe Oxbow School is a private single semester arts school for high school juniors and seniors located in Napa, California, sitting near an oxbow of the Napa River...
- University of California at Davis
- Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for Performing Arts, UCDavis