Charged with transitioning the Robert Mondavi Winery from business by familial handshake to corporate toe-marking, Christopher Barefoot is anxious to create new consumer experiences at the world-renowned Oakville cellar.

“We’re a mature winery but that doesn’t mean we can’t be youthful in our approach,” says the estate manager.

Barefoot is working with Margrit Biever Mondavi, wife of the 94-year-old industry icon, “to keep the winery in the forefront of wine, food and the arts. I want to make the visitor experience more relevant for today’s wine consumer, who happens to be younger than those coming here say 20 years ago.

“Gen-Xers and those in the millennial group look at things differently than baby boomers and others who came before them — yet, they, too, are looking for enjoyable experiences in food and wine. We want to address this group — mainly 25-to-35-year-olds who have disposable income — a lot of them are probably still living at home — and are willing to spend more on wine than did their predecessors.”

Barefoot characterizes his associates at the Oakville winery as a “forward-looking” team. “There’s a great future for this winery.

“We have lots of respect for what Bob Mondavi did. The one fear I have is that newcomers to the valley will lose sight of that story, and not realize how Bob Mondavi laid down the path that others who came here willingly followed.”

Barefoot’s winery team “is looking to create new experiences for people. We want to add to visitors’ wine and tour experiences. For example, we’re talking about adding a podcast as a walking guide as people tour the winery grounds. We’re even talking about making changes to the summer festival (now in its 38th year).

“I see my role as one of brand stewardship. In addition to addressing the consumer experience, I want to make sure we stay true to Bob’s vision when he started the winery in 1966. I realize this job is not without its challenges.”

For example, Barefoot notes that Bob Mondavi’s winery model “spawned many others in the same mold. He turned the spotlight on the Napa Valley. I guess you could say we are a victim of our own success.”

But Mondavi is not resting on its laurels when it comes to winemaking, Barefoot says, referencing the cutting edge efforts of winemaker Genevieve Janssens and a current experimental vineyard program.

“Genevieve has also pared down our wine portfolio, in order to rein in our focus,” Barefoot points out. This includes the core tier of Napa Valley wines for which the winery is famous — fumé blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and moscato d’oro. The district tier wines have been cut back to feature only wines from the Oakville appellation. “It’s our backyard — by showcasing Oakville fruit we are telling our own story,” he adds.

The reserve tier of Mondavi wines includes fumé blanc from the To-Kalon vineyard, as well as chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir. Finally, there’s the Spotlight wine series, small lots of handcrafted wines available at the winery. This group includes a Vine Hill Ranch cabernet sauvignon, a Stags Leap District cabernet sauvignon, hand-selected pinot noir called PNX and 250 cases of I-Block Fumé Blanc produced from 60-year-old vines on the To-Kalon ranch.

At the same time, Barefoot is aware that he is challenged to present his parent company in more positive light, considering Constellation had been bad-mouthed around town when it scooped up Mondavi Corporation assets in a billion-dollar-plus deal in December of 2004.

“Of course, Constellation wants to optimize returns,” he declares, “but quality comes first.”

The firm’s executives pay “close attention to the business,” he insists, “but local decisions are made here, not in New York.”

Immediate goals of Barefoot and the winemaking team at Mondavi include “getting back on wine lists around the country and receiving 90-plus scores again in the wine press.”

“(Constellation) is not the bête noire some perceive. They give us the freedom to do what is right for the winery. I love it here.”

From cola to wine

Although many wonder if the Mondavi estate manager comes from native American stock, Barefoot reveals that is not the case, that his surname derives from his Pennsylvania Dutch heritage.

Barefoot grew up in Richmond, Va., and received his undergraduate degree in medieval history and 19th century literature at the Sorbonne in Paris. He also received his masters degree abroad, through a program established by the University of South Carolina.

Hired by an American company to work in Paris (first with a reinvestment effort and then marketing Pepsi and Coca-Cola from western Europe to the Soviet Union), Barefoot took trips to Cahors and the Languedoc region of France. “I was married at the time and it was then that we really began to appreciate wine.”

When he returned to the United States, Barefoot went to work for Coca-Cola in Atlanta. “I was no longer drinking Bordeaux and Burgundies in Atlanta — my wines of choice came from the Napa Valley.”

When Coca-Cola initiated a massive layoff of 9,000 employees in 2000, Barefoot saw it as an opportunity to get involved in the wine industry. “I moved to California to get into the wine business,” he admits.

He joined Franciscan Estates in 2004 and when it became Icon Estates he began working with the Estancia brand. “I wanted to get people interested in the brand again,”  he says, “and was really in the dark about impending changes at Mondavi.”

He learned the following summer that Icon was searching for a manager at Mondavi. “I didn’t think I was ready for the job, and I liked what I was doing. But I did want to work with a Napa Valley icon like Bob Mondavi.”

Co-workers convinced him to interview for the job and Barefoot subsequently joined the Mondavi team in October of 2005.