Would the last one out please hit the lights?

In an earlier post, I, somewhat rhetorically, asked how long it would be before there were no Mondavis at Mondavi. As it turns out, not long.

"The corporation announced last night that Tim, who had held the title of vice chairman and had overseen the Napa Valley-based company's winemaking operations since the late 1970s, is no longer an employee."

Brother Tim has taken a cue from just about everyone else in his family and hit the bricks. Not all that surprising, but I'm curious how long sister Marcia is going to cling to the side of boat.

"The statement did not indicate if Tim chose to resign or if he will continue to serve on the board of directors"

I'll give you two guesses and the first one doesn't count.

There is a term used in the article that always bugs the hell out of me:

Although a company statement said Tim will continue as "consulting winegrower" with Robert Mondavi Winery and will continue to represent the estate at public events, it is difficult to know how substantive that role will be.

For those of you not bothered by this, please allow me to explain. The idea of a 'winegrower' is just one of myriad catch phrases that my friends out west have created to romanticize their craft. Or just maybe for the express purpose of selling you something you may not normally buy, i.e. a line of crap like Meritage or Fumé Blanc or Winegrower. The word is obviously an amalgamation of the words winemaker and vinegrower. But of course an institution with the standards of Mondavi would never make a wine because this is art not science. And in light of recent 're-structuring', the vinegrower is probably some Mexican getting $8.00 an hour. So let's take all the prestige of being a master alchemist and throw in a healthy dose of 'the man of the earth' schtick and voila, winegrower.

I don't know about you, but I've got all the crazy I need, I ain't buying anymore.