Margrit Mondavi with daughter Annie	Mondavi WInery

To-Kalon is both the name of one of Robert Mondavi Winery's prized vineyards and that of their new winery renovation project underway. The vineyard itself sits on the Oakville Bench in Napa Valley. These 550 acres enjoy some of the best growing conditions for vines.

H.W. Crabb first planted the site in 1866, and deemed it 'To-Kalon' meaning 'highest quality' or 'highest beauty' in Greek. 100 years later in 1966 Robert Mondavi again noted the quality inherent in this site and made it the site of his winery. As Tim Mondavi states now, their goal for the vineyard and the project of the same name is still to create the best wine possible.

Fruit from To-Kalon is integral in the quality of the Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, the Oakville District Cabernet Sauvignon and the up-coming To-Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Quite a few blocks of the vineyard are used for research such as vine and rootstock spacing trials. Higher density plantings such as the four by four foot spacing used here are thought to improve flavor and concentration by reducing vine yields, increasing vine competition and decreasing vigor.

In addition to amazing Cabernet Sauvignon, To-Kalon I-block is a 10 acre parcel of Sauvignon Blanc vines planted in 1945. These vines, believed to be the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vines in North America and perhaps the New World, produce the I-Block Fume Blanc, a wine with great intensity, but very low yields. To-Kalon Vineyard is farmed with sustainable agriculture methods such as hoe plowing and manual weed control rather than herbicides, composting with organic matter rather than synthetic fertilizer, cover crops and the like.

The To-Kalon project will be the first major renovation of the winery since it was founded in 1966. Visitor programs, wine tasting and retail areas will be expanded and the winery while state-of-the-art, will concentrate on traditional winemaking techniques like oak fermentation and gravity flow. Tim Mondavi expains, "The goal of the To-Kalon Project is to bring vineyard innovation together with a gentle, traditional style of winemaking. This, we believe, will allow us to fully express the unique personality of the fruit in the finished wine."

The new multi-level wing is designed for producing red wines like the Reserve, district and single vineyard lines. It will feature 56 handcrafted oak fermenters from Taransaud Coopers in Cognac and a barrel aging cellar spanning 20,000 square feet enough to hold 1,300 barrels one level high. This switch back to oak is ironic as Mondavi Winery introduced stainless steel fermentation to the region in the 60's. Tim Mondavi has found that oak is a good insulator, able to hold the must cool prior to fermentation and retain temperatures during fermentation.

Longer maceration is possible with oak, creates more subtlety and nuance, polymerizes tannins and helps to fix body. Stainless steel creates fresh and bright wines while oak can create complexity, depth and a range of fragrance. 'The technology of today's winemaking techniques will allow 'Mondavi to create stable and high quality wines while incorporating 'traditional practices to improve wine quality. This balance between tradition and technology should propel the quality of Robert Mondavi Winery's wines in the future.