October 30, 2026 (Napa Valley, CA) — For more than 60 years, Michael Mondavi has been at the center of the defining moments that transformed Napa Valley from a developing wine region into one of the world’s most recognized luxury wine destinations. Now, at 83, Mondavi tells his story in Deals Drama Drive: Michael Mondavi and the Making of Napa Valley, a new biography by veteran wine journalist Adam Lechmere, published by Académie du Vin Library.
Author Lechmere spent months working alongside Michael to bring new insights and perspectives to many of the business decisions behind the big moves. “This book is the result of many hours of interviews with Michael and with those who have worked with him, some of them for decades. Throughout, he has been totally open about his extraordinary life and career, the battles with his father, his successes and his failures. Michael has approved every chapter; he has insisted that failures be cataloged as assiduously as successes.”
The book goes beyond the familiar family history to examine the decisions, risks, rivalries, failures and reinventions behind the Mondavi business—and the larger story of the American wine industry.
From growing up at Charles Krug and helping build Robert Mondavi Winery, to launching Opus One with Baron Philippe de Rothschild, developing international ventures with the Frescobaldis of Tuscany and later co-founding Folio Fine Wine Partners, Mondavi’s career has been defined by a willingness to think beyond Napa Valley.
The book also examines the more complicated chapters of that journey: succession pressures within a family-controlled business, internal conflicts, ambitious ventures that did not succeed, the challenges surrounding Copia and the Languedoc, and the eventual sale of Robert Mondavi Winery.
“I’ve spent my life building businesses, taking risks and, sometimes, learning the hard way,” said Michael Mondavi. “What I wanted was for this book to tell the whole story—not simply the successes, but also the difficult decisions, the mistakes, the people who helped me along the way and the lessons that came from all of it. Napa Valley has changed enormously during my lifetime, and I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to have had a front-row seat.”
For Lechmere, the story is larger than one family or one winery. It is a story about the emergence of American wine as a global business—and about what happens when entrepreneurship, family, ambition and legacy collide.
“Michael’s story is fascinating because it is not a simple story of success,” said Adam Lechmere. “It is a story of ambition, risk, resilience and reinvention. Behind the famous names and celebrated wines are very human decisions—some inspired, some difficult and some that simply did not work. That is what makes Michael’s story, and the story of Napa Valley, so compelling.”
THE BUSINESS STORY BEHIND THE WINE
Deals Drama Drive explores the business and leadership decisions behind some of the most important developments in modern American wine, including:
- The operator behind the visionary: How Michael Mondavi helped translate Robert Mondavi’s ambitions into a functioning, fast-growing company.
- The creation of Opus One: The realities of creating a cross-cultural luxury partnership between Napa Valley and Bordeaux.
- Family, leadership and succession: The challenges of governance and decision-making inside a family-controlled business.
- The bets that worked—and the ones that did not: From international ventures and Languedoc to Copia and the sale of Robert Mondavi Winery.
- Rebuilding after a public loss: Mondavi’s subsequent reinvention through Folio Fine Wine Partners and new international alliances.
- Six decades of business lessons: What Mondavi’s career reveals about sales, branding, premiumization, partnerships, entrepreneurship and legacy.
In the book’s Foreword, wine author Karen MacNeil sums up Michael’s influence, “Robert was a man with lofty ideas, a man who flew high. But someone had to hold the kite strings. Someone had to bring it all down to earth. Make it happen. And that someone was Michael.”
ABOUT ADAM LECHMERE
Adam Lechmere has written about wine for more than 25 years. A veteran freelance journalist and publishing director of Académie du Vin Library, he has contributed to *Decanter*, *The Guardian*, *The Telegraph* and other leading publications. In 2018, he launched Club Oenologique.
ABOUT ACADÉMIE DU VIN LIBRARY
Académie du Vin Library publishes authoritative, accessible books that deepen knowledge and appreciation of wine for enthusiasts and professionals.
BOOK: Deals, Drama, Drive: Michael Mondavi and the Making of Napa Valley
Publisher: Académie du Vin Library Ltd.
ISBN: 978-1-917084-95-6, $35
PRE-ORDER NOW at www.michaelmondavifamilyestate.com/book.
On sale 11/10; December Publication
