What was your husband like?
His love and passion for wine and generosity was what made him such a great personality. He certainly had a lot to do with the way Napa Valley grew.
Is that the reason you fell in love with him?
He was so honest, a bit naive even. He hated buffets. He just wanted to sit down with a plate in front of him, a piece of bread and a glass of wine and talk to people. That for him was a great dinner.
Where did you and Mr Mondavi like to travel to?
He worked so hard to establish his winery that by the time I came into his life, he could travel as much as he wanted to and when he wanted to. We liked to go where things were happening; where it was the right time to visit. We were in Berlin in ’89 when the Wall fell; we came over to Hongkong for the Handover in ’97.
For the Millennium, Bob and I wrote down on separate pieces of paper four places we wanted to spend it in and when we compared them, Bali emerged as the number one choice. So we went there.
Where did you stay?
Amandari.
Oh, you’re an “Aman junkie” then.
We’ve also stayed at the Aman in Borobudur, so I guess we are.
What do you do to experience a new place?
Try out the food and wine, of course. I love to cook and I’ve written two cookbooks, one with my daughter Annie and another on my own. Having been in PR and later [and up to now] in charge of organising cultural events, jazz festivals and art exhibits for Robert Mondavi Winery, I also started cooking schools in 1976, where I brought in great French chefs to give classes.
Yes, people now like to do things during their holidays, and cooking classes have proved to be very popular.
Except that people used to stay for a week for these activities. Now they only have three days!
Besides the culinary experience, how else do you try to get to know a city?
My passion is museums. I’ve just come back from the Quirinale in Rome, viewing an exhibit of Roman frescoes that have never been shown before. Then, two years before I married Bob, a friend of mine and I went to Avignon where we were able to view a retrospective of Picasso after he had just died. It was fantastic with about 500 pieces, ranging from his early works, pottery from his different periods – blue, pink, cubism, abstract. I took lots of pictures. You were allowed to then.
Which is the best wine museum you've visited?
Chateau Mouton
