Pioneering California vintner Robert Mondavi has died at the age of 94. I remember being introduced to his wines by an ex-boyfriend whose family did business with the Napa winemaker.

Mondavi was 52 and a winemaking veteran in 1966, when he opened the winery that would help turn the Napa Valley into a world center of the industry. Clashes with a brother that included a fistfight led him to break from the family business to carry out his ambitious plans with borrowed money.

When Mondavi opened his winery, California was still primarily known for cheap jug wines. But he set out to change that, championing use of cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels, all commonplace in the industry today. He introduced blind tastings in Napa Valley, putting his wines up against French vintages, a bold move.

His confidence was rewarded in 1976 when California wines beat some well-known French vintages in the famous tasting known as the Judgment of Paris.

My first Mondavi wine was a wonderful red called Coastal, which was sadly discontinued in 2002, not long after I had the pleasure of first tasting it. I remember having it at Queue de Cheval in Montreal, a steakhouse on Boul. Rene-Levesque. He put California wine country on the map, and made movies like Sideways possible.

Raise a glass to a truly entrepreneurial spirit who will be sadly missed At my table.

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