Napa’s Mondavi estate announces fresh leadership

C. Mondavi & Family – the parent company for the Charles Krug, CK Mondavi & Family, Purple Heart and Fortissimo brands – has announced a changing of the guard in the Napa Valley family business by appointing six cousins, collectively known as “G4,” as company shareholders and brand ambassadors.

“We sat down with a family business advisor and asked the most-basic question – ‘do we as a family want to keep this business going,’ and all six of us answered, ‘well, of course!’” Riana Mondavi, director of national on-premise accounts for CK Mondavi, said in a recent interview. After that, it was just a matter of working out the details.

All six of the G4 are great-grandchildren of immigrants Cesare and Rosa Mondavi, who purchased the Charles Krug winery 75 years ago after first buying and selling grapes grapes in California’s Central Valley. The couple’s two sons, Peter and Robert, parted company in 1965, with Peter keeping the family business and Robert establishing his eponymous winery a year later. Peter continued to head the business, either officially or unofficially, with his sons, Peter Jr. and Marc, until he died in 2016 at the age of 101.

Marc’s four daughters – Alycia, Angelina, Riana and Giovanna – and Peter Jr.’s son Lucio and daughter Lia represent the fourth generation, with Angelina and Lucio now holding board seats in the company. Peter Jr. and Marc remain as co-proprietors. Although privately held, the company is professionally managed, with Judd Wallenbrook serving as CEO. The company’s board consists of four family members and two outside directors.

“We also formed a family council with our dad and uncle,” Riana said, where the third- and fourth-generation regularly meet to discuss planning and strategy for the company. Although all relatively young, the G4 members have considerable academic experience, and some have worked as interns or employees for other wine and financial concerns.

According to Riana, who is also the company spokesperson , the six are each committed to “deciding how we can best be a contributing shareholder to the business.”

While that may be the case, she added: “To say me and my sisters are not competitive would be wrong.”