Robert Mondavi (1913-2008) was one of the most important personalities in the world of wine . Son of Italian immigrants from the Marche, Mondavi worked for a long time in the Charles Krug company, taken over by his father in 1943, before founding the company that bears his name in 1966 with the aim of producing wines capable of competing with the best to the world . Part of the estate on which Mondavi built his cellar included the legendary To Kalon vineyard, where one of the best Cabernet Sauvignons in the world is still cultivated , together with Sauvignon Blanc from which one of his most famous wines is produced: Fumé Blanc .

Robert Mondavi was one of the first producers to label varietal wines , a practice that today represents the New World standard and is undoubtedly the one who has most contributed to promoting wine tourism and spreading the idea of wine as a lifestyle product in the States United, all this earned him the reputation of "wine ambassador" and the nickname "Patriarch" .

In 1978 he created Opus One : an estate born from the joint venture with Baron Philippe de Rothschild , owner of Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild, with the aim of creating a Bordeaux blend with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. For a long period of time it was the most expensive wine in the region, as well as being the first Californian premium wine to be sold in Europe; today it is one of the ten most sought after wines in the world.