[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 4, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E123]]


                    HONORING MARGRIT BIEVER MONDAVI

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 4, 2003

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Margrit Biever 
Mondavi on the occasion of her being distinguished as an Honorary 
Member of the Agricultural Leadership Alumni. The award will be 
bestowed upon Mrs. Mondavi at the annual conference of this 
organization.
  Selection for this distinction is ``reserved for special individuals 
who have, over a period of time, demonstrated consistent commitment and 
uncommon excellence in the furtherance of education and leadership in 
California agriculture.''
  Mrs. Mondavi is a native of Appenzell, Switzerland and was raised in 
her family home in the canton of Ticino. Margrit studied art at 
Minusio, an art school in Switzerland, under a professor who had been a 
student of Hans Hoffman. In 1967, Margrit joined the Robert Mondavi 
Winery and pursued her life-long interest in uniting wine with fine 
arts, music, and culinary artistry.
  Mrs. Mondavi founded the winery's popular Summer Music Festival in 
1969 as a benefit for the Napa Valley Symphony. She and a small group 
of other dedicated Napa Valley art lovers formed a board of directors 
to rebuild the original 19th-century opera house in the city of Napa. 
In 1998, the opera raised significant funds for the restoration as part 
of a challenge grant from Margrit and Robert G. Mondavi. Mrs. Mondavi 
introduced a program of cooking classes to develop guests' appreciation 
of great food paired with fine wine, as well as the Great Chefs of 
France and the Great Chefs of America programs. She and Robert also 
recently made a substantial personal gift to the University of 
California at Davis to establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine 
and Food Science and to launch The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center 
for the Performing Arts opened in October 2002. The couple work 
together as founding patrons of Copia: The American Center for Wine, 
Food, and the Arts. Margrit was also instrumental in securing the 
downtown Napa location for the center.
  Margrit has applied her talent to commercial design and has now 
created a line of home accessory designs exclusively for the Robert 
Mondavi Winery. She has been married to Robert Mondavi since 1980. An 
accomplished linguist, Margrit often translates her husband's speeches 
for international audiences.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Margrit Biever Mondavi as 
an Honorary Member of the Agricultural Leadership Alumni. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in wishing Margrit Biever Mondavi many years of 
continued success.

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