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Robert Mondavi Award to honour first wife & husband duo
Gina Gallo, senior director of winemaking at the Ernest and Julio Gallo Winery and her husband Jean-Charles Boisset, proprietor of the Boisset Collection, will be the first couple to receive the Robert Mondavi Wine & Food award by the Collins College of Hospitality Management for their contribution to the wine world and hospitality industry.
Scheduled for 4 March, this is the first time the award will be given to two individuals instead of one, a break from its tradition since it was first launched in 1999. The couple will be honoured at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
The award is designed to honour individuals whose vision and leadership have advanced the hospitality industry, and who have demonstrated a dynamic influence on the restaurant industry while changing the world through the power of food.
Voted as the drinks business’ most influential woman in 2012, Gina cut her teeth working as an apprentice winemaker at her family’s experimental micro-winery in Modesto before she worked as director winemaking at Gallo. The company produces more than 80 wine brands.
She is also a board member of the American Farmland Trust, which works to preserve agricultural land, in addition to being on the board of Taste of the NFL, which raises funds and awareness for food banks and anti-hunger initiatives.
A native of Vougeot in Burgundy, Jean-Charles Boisset has implemented organic and biodynamic farming at all of the family’s estate vineyards in Burgundy and California and instituted the concept of “viniculture” — redefining the company’s traditional role to encompass a close and active interest in all aspects of winemaking to ensure premium quality and sustainable farming practices.
His has re-invigorated the California wineries in the family collection including DeLoach Vineyards in the Russian River Valley, Raymond Vineyards in the Napa Valley, and Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma Valley. In addition, he has established and expanded his namesake JCB Collection.
Proceeds of the event will support The Collins College, one of the premier hospitality colleges in the world. Over the past four years, the event has raised more than US$500,000 annually for the college.