Celebrate and Win on Robert Mondavi Day this Sunday, May 16th

Sunday, May 16th marks the 2nd anniversary of Robert Mondavi’s passing.

Last year, in memorial to Mondavi and his legacy (and cleared by the Robert Mondavi Winery brand stewards), I started the unofficially official “Robert Mondavi Day” to mark the anniversary of his passing, and, more importantly, his everlasting contributions to the California wine industry and, to a large extent, the domestic wine business as we know it.

I have a deep and profound respect for Mondavi’s leadership, vision and indefatigable nature in raising the 1960s California wine industry up by its bootstraps through the dint of hard work and moxie, something I’ve written about a number of times and retrievable by searching “Robert Mondavi” on this site.

In paying homage, however humbly, I hope to keep his spirit alive on the internets, especially as a new generation of wine drinkers come online, long on passion and short on historical wine perspective.

A year ago, we had a communal celebration with the theme, “California Inspiration” for Wine Blogging Wednesday.  This year, I’ve partnered with wine accessory company True Fabrications for a prize package offering ($150 value w/ free shipping)!

What better way to celebrate the Godfather of California wine than by offering a prize package that celebrates wine enthusiasm?

Special thanks, of course, go to True Fabrications for their generosity in sponsorship.  Started in 2004 by three college buddies and a little friends and family seed money, the company set out to create custom wine bags for wholesale.  Mission accomplished as their designs can be found in wine shops and other retail outlets across the country.  They also have a consumer ecommerce site with a well-curated selection of wine enthusiast essentials.  Check them out, it’s hard not to like a small company of young entrepreneurs who pride themselves on sublime customer service while offering everything a wine lover needs(except the wine).

Here are the details for the prize package:

• Enter by leaving a comment on this blog post answering the very simple question, “What is your favorite California wine, varietal or winery?”

• There is no right answer to the prize question.  A winner will be selected by a random number generator based on the number of total comments.  Therefore, if the first commenter says, “Zinfandel” and the 91st commenter says, “Ridge Zinfandel” both commenter’s have an equal chance of winning based on random number selection.  Only one comment per person, please.

• Entries are open from the time of posting until Midnight on Saturday, May 15th EST

• The prize package offering has a $150 value and shipping is fully paid.  I will contact the winner for their mailing address based on the email they leave in the comment field.  If I cannot reach that person by the end of the day Tuesday, May 18th, I will select another winner.

• Finally, a lot of people read this site.  Very few people leave a comment.  For all of the lurkers, this is your chance to say hello and win a fabulous prize package.  And, most importantly, hoist a glass of California wine to your lips this weekend and pause to thank a man who saw the possibilities for California wine on the world stage. 

The prize package (each item was hand selected by me and the total offering is worth $150 + free shipping and handling) includes:

• 4 Duet wine tasting glasses

• 1 display quality bell corkscrew

• VacuVin pump kit and two stoppers

• Two extra VacuVin stoppers

• 1 can Private Preserve wine preserver

• 1 Soiree wine aerator

• A deluxe cheese board and knife set

• 1 Red wine “Wine Away” wine stain removal kit

• 2 bottles of SanTasti wine palate cleanser

• 1 tin of Wine Wipes

* Update*  Friend of the site Neil Monnens, Publisher of Wine Blue Book, will also include a free 1 year subscription to Wine Blue Book.  As a paid subscriber to WBB, I can attest that it’s a great value and resource for navigating the world of wine and the myriad of choices related to wine scores!  WBB distills the scores into those with the highest Quality-to-Price Ratio (QPR).

Thanks for entering and thanks for celebrating Robert Mondavi Day with me ... now, go leave a comment!