Wine, Food and Art.(Robert Mondavi)(Brief Article)(Interview)

He is the uncrowned king of U.S. vintners, revered for his premium wines, his business acumen and his mythic energy. A first-generation Italian-American, Robert Mondavi graduated from Stanford University to build a family wine business with his father. Decades later, ousted at 52 by his younger brother after a nasty legal battle, he rebounded by starting the Robert Mondavi Winery. A commitment to excellence and innovative marketing techniques helped him land international partnerships with vintners from France to Chile, from Tuscany to Australia. Now, at 88, realizing a long-held dream, he has created Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts, in Napa, California. Margrit, his Swiss-born artist wife and muse, helped plan the $55 million high-tech museum that opened last fall. Over a lunch of California cuisine and Mondavi wines in the art gallery of their famed winery, NEWSWEEK's Vibhuti Patel talked to the Mondavis. Excerpts:

PATEL: You've partnered with the best in the business. Talk about your connection with the late Baron de Rothschild.

ROBERT MONDAVI: I first met the baron at his chateau in Bordeaux. He was very casually dressed in a Mexican serape and was working on his [bottle] labels--like me, he took great pride in his labels. We had a simple but exquisite dinner--quail, no butter, no cream--served with a 100-year-old Mouton. Not a word of business was spoken that night. He said, "Would you mind?... I do business in my bedroom." The next morning we met in his immense bedroom; he sat propped up in bed in a silk robe. Rajah, his golden retriever, sat at the foot of the bed.

MARGRIT MONDAVI: Their agreement was written on a yellow pad and sealed with a handshake.

How does it feel to be retired?

R. MONDAVI: I've been "emeritus" for a long time. I never realized I'd be valuable because of my experience. I express my opinion openly to everyone, then they can do what they want. We've tried everything--the family operation, the corporate idea--now we're back to the family way. The corporate way looks at the bottom line; we look at the future.

Your sons have had their differences. Were you able to bring them around to your view?