Winemaker Rob Mondavi's enthusiasm for wine began more than 30 years ago. The son of Michael and Isabel Mondavi, Rob was raised in Napa Valley and spent much of his time as a child playing among the vines and barrels at Robert Mondavi Winery. Growing up Rob worked in a variety of roles at the family winery, from vineyards to cellar to hospitality. Rob attended the University of Santa Clara and during his summer breaks held a variety of positions in the family company to gain experience in all aspects of vineyard and winery management, hospitality and business operations. Additionally, he started his own business hosting mountain bike tours through the Napa Valley wine country.
After graduating from college in 1994 with a degree in English Literature, Rob worked in sales with Southern Wine & Spirits, a major distributor of fine wines. Fueled by a desire to learn more about the international business culture, Rob moved to Panama for a year. When he returned, he established the Napa Cigar Company in 1996, a Napa-based importer of premium cigars from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and the Canary Islands. Rob left his cigar business in June 2000 to join the Robert Mondavi Corporation. After one year as a luxury brands Sales Manager, he was promoted Sales Director in August 2001 with responsibility for developing and managing sales of the company's imported wines from Australia, Chile and Italy in more than 20 states. After three years in Sales, Rob moved home to the Napa Valley where he took on the role of Director of Marketing for Robert Mondavi Winery. In this position he spearheaded the winery's trade marketing. He and his family founded Folio Wine Company in 2004.
In 2003 Rob and Lydia Mondavi, partnered with Paul and Patricia Hoffman, to follow their passion and start producing wine. The focus was to produce wines from unique, maturing vineyards in California harvesting their favorite grape varietal, Zinfandel. The venture was appropriately named Medusa after the gnarly old vines. The partnership quickly grew and now Rob and Paul focus on the winemaking for both Medusa and Spellbound Wines.
