Top 30 Robert Mondavi Quotes (2024 Update)

1. “My path was simple: Follow your passion. Pour in your heart and soul. Settle for nothing less than excellence. And with enough hard work and faith in yourself, you can realize your dream.”

— Robert Mondavi

2. “Making good wine is a skill; making fine wine is an art.”

— Robert Mondavi

3. “I am a great believer in research and innovation.”

— Robert Mondavi

4. “Wine to me is passion. It’s family and friends. It’s warmth of heart and generosity of spirit.”

— Robert Mondavi

5. “America was built on the can-do spirit and will continue to thrive on the can-do spirit.”

— Robert Mondavi

6. “The greatest leaders don’t rule. They inspire.”

— Robert Mondavi

7. “If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food, and art – as a way of enhancing life.”

— Robert Mondavi

8. “I feel blessed. So many men and women search and search but never find their passion, their calling, their sense of mission that would ignite their hearts and fill their lives with meaning and joy.”

— Robert Mondavi

9. “Later, at Stanford University, I thought I’d become a lawyer or businessman, but my father came to me and said he thought there was a big future in the fine-wine business.”

— Robert Mondavi

10. “Wine always inspires sociability.”

— Robert Mondavi

11. “Even more importantly, it’s wine, food and the arts. Incorporating those three enhances the quality of life.”

— Robert Mondavi

12. “We definitely need to get the excitement back.”

— Robert Mondavi

13. “In both life and work, stay flexible. Whether in a country, a company, or a family, the same holds true: Dictatorship and rigidity rarely work. Freedom and elasticity do.”

— Robert Mondavi

14. “I know that wine is, above all else, a blessing, a gift of nature, a joy as pure and elemental as the soil and vines and sunshine from which it springs.”

— Robert Mondavi

15. “I say to consumers: instead of relying totally on critics, drink what you like and like what you drink.”

— Robert Mondavi

16. “Wine to me is all about sharing.”

— Robert Mondavi

17. “Once I was able to take care of myself and my children, I then wanted to share.”

— Robert Mondavi

18. “Ever since I was a child, I wanted to excel in everything.”

— Robert Mondavi

19. “It is giving me a great satisfaction, because I had the notion that we could make great wines equal to the greatest wines in the world, and everybody said it was impossible.”

— Robert Mondavi

20. “How beautiful it is to excel, and the goodness of giving from your heart.”

— Robert Mondavi

21. “I want to make wines that harmonize with food – wines that almost hug your tongue with gentleness.”

— Robert Mondavi

22. “Inductee in the Vintner’s Hall of Fame.”

— Robert Mondavi

23. “Also, many consumers consider a critic to be like God Almighty.”

— Robert Mondavi

24. “I’ve always wanted to improve on the idea of living well, In moderation, wine is good for you – mentally, physically, and spiritually.”

— Robert Mondavi

25. “We want to raise the art of living well.”

— Robert Mondavi

26. “Critics have done the wine industry a lot of good overall.”

— Robert Mondavi

27. “I always knew that food and wine were vital, with my mother being Italian and a good cook.”

— Robert Mondavi

28. “As I traveled the world over, I traveled everywhere, and I learned so much.”

— Robert Mondavi

29. “My mother served me wine and water from the time I was 3 years old.”

— Robert Mondavi

30. “I know of no one who has been more helpful to the industry. His teachings and consultations internationally, without doubt, improved the quality of winemaking in our country. He was a friend to everyone interested in fine wine.”

— Robert Mondavi

31. “Wine has been with civilized man from the beginning.”

— Robert Mondavi

32. “My brother and I had saved $15,000 by working many years nailing fruit crates together.”

— Robert Mondavi

33. “Whether I played marbles, whether I played football or slam anything else, I wanted to excel.”

— Robert Mondavi

34. “There are a lot of people with a lot of money, and I’m amazed they don’t understand what a great pleasure it can be to give.”

— Robert Mondavi