For Art Museum, No Mondavi Money Till All Wine Is Sold
“Ninety-nine bottles of wine on the wall. . . .”
Actually, about 7,200 bottles--600 cases--of wine remain to be sold in a partnership venture between the Newport Harbor Art Museum and the Robert Mondavi winery in Oakville, Calif.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Feb. 18, 1989 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday February 18, 1989 Orange County Edition Calendar Part 5 Page 14 Column 1 Entertainment Desk 2 inches; 61 words Type of Material: Correction
Because of incorrect information supplied to The Times, a story in Thursday’s Calendar incorrectly described the timing of a Robert Mondavi donation to the Newport Harbor Art Museum. In fact, the winery will give a check representing $1 per bottle of sales of its 1984 “Museum Chardonnay” in a ceremony in August to mark the opening of its new 11,000-square-foot Robert Mondavi Wine and Cultural Center in Costa Mesa’s Gateway Center.
One dollar from every sale of “Museum Chardonnay” (actually the winery’s 1984 Chardonnay as specially labeled for sale in coastal Orange County) will be donated to the museum for its building fund and operating budget. But the museum will only receive the money after every bottle is sold.
The program started in December with 1,200 cases of wine, about half of which remain on retailers’ shelves. Each bottle costs about $10. A green, orange and purple neckband on each bottle reads in part: “ . . . as you appreciate the subtle beauty of Robert Mondavi Museum Chardonnay, you’ll also support the visual arts in Orange County. . . .”
Newport Harbor is the only museum in the country to which Mondavi is donating a portion of wine sales. Why would a Napa Valley winery care about supporting the visual arts in Orange County? Because, according to a Mondavi spokesman, Southern California is a major consumer of wines--and because the Robert Mondavi Wine and Cultural Center will open in Gateway Center in Costa Mesa in August.
The 1,100-square-foot center, with a walled garden, will be open only to corporations and professional associations, to whom it will offer concerts and food festivals along with other cultural and wine-related activities. Founder Mondavi explains in a written statement that his winery views “wine as an integral part of our culture, heritage and the gracious way of life.”
