NAPA (KRON) Napa Valley winemaker Peter Mondavi the CEO of the Charles Krug Winery has died at the age of 101. Mondavi died Saturday at his home in St. Helena.
Peter Mondavi is being remembered by family and friends as a pioneer of the wine industry in Napa.
Peter was the brother of Robert Mondavi.
From Carlo Mondavi on Instagram: “Peter Mondavi | Yesterday my great uncle and grandfather Roberts’ brother, a fellow vintner, an incredible innovator, pioneer and maverick…
Yesterday was a tough day. I am heart broken to say grandpa said his final goodbye and is now watching over us. He was…Posted by Alycia Mondavi on Sunday, February 21, 2016
Mondavi began his career in wine when Napa Valley was chiefly known for inexpensive jug wine, or “vin ordinaire,” as he would refer to it. In 1943, his parents purchased Charles Krug Winery, which even then enjoyed a long pedigree. Prussian emigrant Charles Krug founded his eponymous winery in 1861, making it the oldest operating winery in the Napa Valley today. Mondavi worked the property with his family and eventually assumed the role of president and CEO upon his mother’s death in 1976.
The family business, C. Mondavi & Family, founded by and named after patriarch Cesare Mondavi, continues to thrive and includes third and fourth generations of the family. Today, Mondavi’s sons, Marc and Peter Jr., lead the vision of the family winery with his grandchildren in the wings.