While not as celebrated in international wine circles as his late brother, Peter Mondavi Sr. nevertheless commands the respect of his peers for long-term management of a renowned Napa Valley wine company bought out of Prohibition-era bankruptcy.

Charles Krug Winery might have been an historic landmark, birthplace of the Napa Valley wine industry, but for kids its buildings just made one great playground. As Peter Mondavi and his sons, Peter Jr. and Marc, unveiled the renovation project at Krug last Saturday, the sons and their cousins recalled childhood adventures in and round the 1872 redwood cellar and the 1881 carriage house.

Last weekend, the Charles Krug winery celebrated the past with a beautiful and fitting event. But great winemaking isn’t about nostalgia; it’s about the vineyards and the wines of today.

By the end of the harvest, 2008 may well be remembered as a year with lower than normal yields — in some cases off by as much as 40-50 percent — but with excellent quality in the grapes that were harvested.