Overview: The Mondavi family has unveiled its new Estate House at Continuum Estate in Napa Valley, marking a significant milestone for the winery founded in 2005. While Constellation Brands owns the parent Robert Mondavi Winery and is undertaking a $200 million transformation project, the family operates Continuum Estate independently with a focus on precision and scarcity.
The Full Story
Decades after the Mondavis lost their California wine empire, their comeback winery is ready for its big debut. The new Estate House opened this summer at Continuum Estate, located on Napa’s illustrious Pritchard Hill. Tim Mondavi, 75, the youngest son of legendary winemaker Robert Mondavi and co-founder of Continuum Estate, described the venture as “our new love.” He noted that while a bag of money does not make up for a broken heart, it leads to a new love.
Continuum is the Mondavi family’s first endeavor for which it grows, produces and bottles everything from the estate. The winery was founded in 2005 by Robert Mondavi and several of his children and grandchildren, shortly after the sale of Robert Mondavi Winery to Constellation Brands in 2004. At that time, the winery and its lower-tier brands were sold for more than $1 billion. The family lost much of its voting control ahead of the sale, leading to financial turmoil and a shift in priorities from quality to profit.
The new Estate House is a 5,000-square-foot tasting space representing the final step in the family’s two-decade journey of reinstating its place in the fine wine world. It sits steps from Continuum’s vines on Pritchard Hill, widely considered the region’s crown jewel of Cabernet Sauvignon production. The building features a Valley Room made for groups with panoramic views and a main tasting room designed like a living room with plush green furniture.
Production & Profile
The small, high-tech winery featuring large concrete and oak fermenters was completed in 2013. There is no stainless steel at the facility. The estate consists of 173 acres planted to 66 acres of vines, including more than 40 individual blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Tim Mondavi stated that Cabernet Franc does incredibly well in these volcanic soils.
Continuum produces just 4,500 cases of wine a year. Its flagship bottle, Continuum, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc priced at $310. The winery utilizes a mix of organic, biodynamic, regenerative and experimental, data-driven practices to ensure that vines can produce for many more decades. The Estate House opened this summer, though without the pageantry of Robert Mondavi Winery, which hired John Legend to perform at its grand opening party.
Brand & Industry History
Cesare Mondavi moved to Lodi in the 1920s to start a grape packaging business that shipped grapes across the country for homemade wine during Prohibition. His recognition of the potential of Napa Valley’s terroir encouraged his son, Robert, to go there. Tim Mondavi noted that his grandfather said, “Bobby, go to Napa Valley,” which was against the trend at the time when money was made in the Central Valley. The family continued that trend upward from the Central Valley to the Valley floor and finally up on the hillside.
Continuum Estate was founded by the Mondavi family in 2005, shortly after the sale of Robert Mondavi Winery to Constellation Brands. Tim Mondavi had worked alongside his father at the winery since 1974. At 53 — the same age his father was when he founded Robert Mondavi Winery — Tim Mondavi felt compelled to start a new wine venture for the family. The Estate House debuted this summer, marking the capstone on the Mondavi family’s more than two decades of building a new wine legacy.
What This Means
Like most of Napa’s ultra-premium Cabernet houses, Continuum was designed around the idea of precision, which lends itself to scarcity. The winery is arguably everything Robert Mondavi Winery, now a corporate grocery brand, isn’t, but for Tim Mondavi, that’s not as light on what his father built. Instead, he’s looking to build on his family’s century-old legacy of being at the forefront of the California wine industry. The estate house is the final point in convincing people of the quality of one of the most beautiful and high-quality vineyards in the world.
Consumer Takeaway
Visits to the Estate House begin with a pour of Sentium, a zippy, yet serious Sauvignon Blanc sourced from Mendocino County and made by the fourth-generation Mondavis. Guests embark on an in-depth tour of the vineyard and winery, then finish their visit with a tasting of Continuum’s two estate wines: Novicium, a Cabernet-forward blend inspired by the Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernets of their past, and the flagship, Continuum. Visits cost $200 or are complimentary with purchase of a 3-pack of Continuum. The kitchen at the Continuum Estate is run by Sarah Scott, the executive chef at Robert Mondavi Winery between 1993 and 2006. Visitors are encouraged to request a customized food experience, such as lunch, dinner or a cooking class with Scott.
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