BookOpinion

In Julia Flynn Siler’s comprehensive work “The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty,” she does for winemakers what Laura Hillenbrand did for horseracing in her bestseller Seabiscuit. Her engaging, descriptive style envelops readers into the unfamilar world of Napa Valley vintners. If you have never had any interest in wine beyond drinking it, check out Flynn Siler’s reading at a recent Authors@Google presentation.

During her talk, the author details her difficulties in writing the book particularly the problems she had attempting to contact and interview members of the Mondavi family. In the end, she researched thousands of pages of court documents for the book and conducted more than 500 hours of interviews.

The result showcases the sometimes heartbreaking reality of a family-run business. Flynn Siler recounts a notorious incident that fueled the break-up of the family business:

“By one account the two brothers, both in their 50s end up rolling around in the dust. Robert throttles Peter and then when Mama Rosa sees the marks on her youngest child’s neck … she is outraged. It brings up all those feelings over the years about Robert not paying due respect to her baby. She banishes him from the family business. He goes about five miles down highway 29 and starts Robert Mondavi Winery.”

To watch the author provide more background for her book “The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty,” check out the video.