Landmark conference celebrates founding of Robert Mondavi Winery

By L. PIERCE CARSON, Register Staff Writer

An upcoming 40th anniversary celebration this summer will salute innovations as well as achievements of wine industry icon Robert Mondavi.

Mondavi, who turns 93 on June 18, launched his own winemaking company in July 1966, a step that would have significant impact on the world of wine.

"With a nod to the past and a leap into the future," winery officials are planning a "one-of-a-kind conference" slated to take place at Copia and the Robert Mondavi Winery July 13-16.

In what is hoped to become an annual event, TASTE3 is billed as a landmark inter-disciplinary gathering of some of the world's most dynamic professionals in wine, food and the arts. The event will feature as many as three dozen writers, thinkers, chefs, winemakers, journalists and artisans addressing a wide variety of topics. Already, the list of speakers includes:

* Austrian crystal designer Georg Riedel.

* Powerhouse restaurateur Drew Nieporent.

* Archaeological chemist Patrick McGovern, a leading authority on wine in the ancient world.

* Leo McCloskey, founder and president of Enologix, a wine consultancy that harnesses chemistry to predict taste scores.

* Carl Doumani on his Hundertwasser-designed Quixote Winery.

* Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio, the globetrotting creative team behind the award-winning Hungry Planet book.

* M.I.T. Media Lab's Hugo Liu, creator of the Synesthetic Cookbook project.

* Marie Wright, flavorist, International Flavors and Fragrance (IFF)/Visionaire TASTE project.

* Maricel Presilla, food dynamo, historian, author and restaurateur.

* Joshua Wesson, retail expert, sommelier and co-founder of Best Cellars.

* Robby Barnett, artistic director of the groundbreaking and gravity-defying dance troupe Pilobolus.

* Taste the results of Hiroshi Tanaka's instant (and controversial) wine-aging technology.

* UC Berkeley-based preservationist Victor Geraci, who has spent decades collecting the oral history of 100 Bay Area winemakers, chefs, growers and food experts.

* Margrit Biever Mondavi, winery vice president of cultural affairs.

There are also a number of food and wine events. TASTE3 will feature 25 alumni of the Great Chefs at Robert Mondavi Winery, including Alice Waters, and Thomas Keller, plus 50 of America's top sommeliers. In addition to dinners at Napa Valley wineries, Taste3 will feature a Great Chefs of Robert Mondavi Winery Alumni Dinner on July 15, with legendary chefs dishing up the unexpected, paired with special anniversary selections from Robert Mondavi Winery's wine library.

Robert Mondavi Winery's 40th Anniversary celebration will close the conference on July 16 -- 40 years to the day when ground was broken at the iconic Oakville winery.

Tickets to TASTE3 are $2,350 per person, which includes full access to the two-day conference at Copia, networking breakouts, lunch and dinner events, the Great Chefs Alumni Gala Dinner and the Robert Mondavi Winery 40th Anniversary Celebration closing event.

To request an invitation or more information, visit www.TASTE3.com or call 967-3997.

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