Opus One, Minus Mondavi, Lives Up to Fabled Name: John Mariani
By Wine Atlas, Monday 3 April 2006 :: Wine - United-States :: #111 :: rss
How do you market one of the most famous wines in the world when one of its equally famous founders has been bounced from the winery?
This is the dilemma of Opus One, an icon of California wine that was founded in 1979 as a joint venture by Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi Winery and the equally illustrious Baron Philippe de Rothschild, owner of Bordeaux's Chateau Mouton- Rothschild. Baron Philippe died in 1988, with his daughter, Baroness Philippine, taking over the family business.
Since its debut, Opus One has been acclaimed as a wine that brought American and French winemaking traditions into harmony. It encouraged California wineries to begin blending cabernet sauvignon with other grapes to achieve more complex, elegant wines. Today Opus One produces 25,000 to 30,000 cases annually, with more than 90 percent of its grapes grown on its own estates. Current vintages sell for about $150 a bottle.
In late 2004, after some of the Mondavi family's ventures into multi-branding and investments in Chile and Italy foundered, Constellation Brands Inc. purchased Robert Mondavi Corp. It assumed 50 percent ownership of Opus One and effectively forced the Mondavis out of their own winery.
Constellation, based in Fairport, New York, is the largest wine company in the world, with more than 200 beverage brands, including Almaden, Paul Masson, Simi and Ravenswood in the U.S. It operates in 60 countries, with sales of $4.09 billion in fiscal 2005.
Classic Bordeaux
The Opus One board already had named David Pearson as chief executive officer and in 2001 appointed a well-regarded winemaker, Michael Silacci, previously at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.
Continue reading: bloomberg.com
