Running Free

Robert Mondavi was a true American pioneer. At a time when no one believed that we in America could ever create world-class wines, Robert stuck out his jaw and said, "Oh yeah? Well, I'll show you!

And show us he did. With vision, passion, and a galvanizing sense of mission, Robert led the rise of the Napa Valley from a dusty California backwater into one of the great wine-producing regions of the world, standing proudly next to Burgundy, Bordeaux, Tuscany and the Loire Valley. And that was just the beginning.

Guided by his Swiss-born wife Margrit, Robert joined hands with fellow pioneers like Julia Child, Alice Waters and Thomas Keller and turned the Napa Valley into a dream destination for wine and food lovers from all around the globe. Last year, some 3.5 million visitors came to the valley to taste The Good Life, California style, and also to enjoy the very best in American art, film, and music.

This is an intimate portrait of Robert and what made him so special, as a leader, as a creator, and as a man with a unique ability to inspire others to build their dreams and come join his cause. And no one knows the subject better than author Paul Chutkow.

Paul ghost-wrote Robert's acclaimed memoir "Harvests of Joy," published in 1998, and the two men remained close throughout the final ten years of Robert's life. With warmth and objectivity, Paul shows us Robert and Margrit in their times of triumph, and also in their times of heartbreak and sorrow, when their winery was suddenly and brutally sold out from under them, and the result is a book that is sure to stir hearts and earn a vast following throughout the world of wine and far beyond.