Harvests of Joy by Robert Mondavi

I just read the Associated Press obituary "Winemaker Robert Mondavi Dead at 94" just published in the New York Times. I had heard of Mondavi wine but didn't know the story behind the company and I didn't even know that Mondavi was largely responsible for the success of California wine.

I still don't know much (just what was printed in the article) but I tried to put a hold on Mondavi's 1998 autobiography Harvests of Joy: How the Good Life Became Great Business at my local library.

Anyway, I looked up the New York Times review of Harvests of Joy ("Stomp" by Ted Loos) and it's not exactly a glowing commentary...

Still, Mondavi sounds like an interesting man and I appreciate that (according to the AP obituary) he was aware of and forthcoming about the mistakes (personal and professional) he made during his successful journey as a winemaker.

Click here to read an excerpt of Harvests of Joy from NYTimes.com.

Unfortunately my local library does not carry it so I may have to settle for The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty by Julia Flynn Siler (published in 2007) or go out and purchase a copy of Harvests of Joy.

At least the New York Times review of The House of Mondavi ("Grapes and Power: A Mondavi Melodrama" by Eric Asimov) sounds more promising -- though perhaps too :)

Click here to read more about The House of Mondavi from the author's website.