11

Mondavi Institute

The Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science

(RMI) at the University of California, Davis was

established in 2001 with a twenty-five million dollar gift

from Robert Mondavi. On June 23, 2005, Robert Mondavi

turned a four foot corkscrew with the help of his wife,

Margrit Mondavi to break ground for the Institute. Also

present at the ceremony were a giant fork and bottle

opener.

The facility housing the university's viticulture, oenology

and food science departments was opened in October,

2008. The first building constructed was a 129,600-

square-foot academic building, built in three wings

wrapping around a courtyard that face westward toward

a teaching vineyard and open space. Cost of construction

was seventy-three million dollars.

Groundbreaking for the second phase construction of

32.000 sq. ft. of buildings was held during the grand

opening of the first building. Robert Mondavi's* children,

Tim Mondavi and Marcia Mondavi Borger with

Viticulture and Enology Department chair Andrew

Waterhouse once again turned a giant corkscrew to break

ground in the ceremony.

*Robert Mondavi died in May of 2008 at the age of 94.