Tim Mondavi has stepped down as vice chairman and winegrower of the Robert Mondavi Corporation, the company announced today.
Mondavi will continue as a consulting winegrower and will retain his seat on the board. Officials said the move is not related to his brother Michael’s forced resignation earlier this week.
According to the the New York Times and other news outlets, Tim Mondavi said he was forming an investor group to explore opportunities with his family, which could indicate he is interested in bidding for the luxury wine businesses which are for sale.
‘I intend to explore wine related opportunities with members of my family,’ he told a Napa news organisation.
According to Michael Mondavi, he and Tim and their sister Marcia Mondavi Borger, who lives in New York and is involved in the financial side of the company, voted against the breakup of the company.
Michael himself has also talked about the possibility of the family bidding for some of the luxury brands, which include the Oakville winery, the family’s stake in Opus One, Luce, Ornellaia and other high-end names.
At this stage nothing is substantiated, although speculation is rife. One well-placed insider told decanter.com he thought it most likely that Tim would use his share of the sale to buy the Oakville winery, ‘where he can continue to make the Bordeaux-style wines which he loves.’
Written by Adam Lechmere, and agencies
