Robert Mondavi, patriarch of the California wine industry and one of the most ardent and generous supporters of UC Davis, died May 16 at his Napa Valley home. He was 94.

His death came just weeks before students, faculty and staff begin moving into the academic buildings of the new Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis.

The institute embodies Mr. Mondavi's passion for wine, food and the arts — a passion shared equally by his wife, Margrit, and reflected in the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, which stands across the street from the wine

and food institute.

Mr. Mondavi helped transform California winemaking from a cottage industry of small wineries to an internationally recognized center of fine wine production, thus changing the worldview of American wines.

Following his graduation from Stanford University in 1936 with a degree in economics and business administration, Mr. Mondavi joined his father at the Sunnyhill Winery in St. Helena and later at Charles Krug, where he upgraded the technology of the family's enterprise, determined to raise wine quality.

In 1966, he established the first major winery built in the Napa Valley following the repeal of the Prohibition Act in 1933. His goal was to combine European craft and tradition with the latest in American technology, management and marketing expertise.

Mr. Mondavi pioneered many fine winemaking techniques in California, including cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks and the use of the French oak barrels.

He popularized dry-fermented oak-aged Sauvignon blanc as Fume blanc — a move now acknowledged as the catalyst for the recognition of this grape variety in America. He also initiated blind tastings in the Napa Valley, allowing consumers and the trade to evaluate wine quality. In the 1970s, the Robert Mondavi Winery was among the first to export premium wines.

The state Assembly hailed Mr. Mondavi in 2002 as "the global emissary of American food and wine" for lifetime achievements on behalf of California wine, food and the arts, and he was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in December 2007.

As an expression of his desire to improve not only California's wines, but also the state's quality of life, Mr. Mondavi generously supported cultural and educational institutions.

In 2001, Robert and Margrit Mondavi gave $25 million to help establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, which is scheduled to open in October, and $10 million for the campus's performing arts center, which opened in 2002 and has become a regional performing arts landmark.

In June 2004, UC Davis presented Robert and Margrit Mondavi with the UC Davis Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the university.

"I am delighted to award the UC Davis Medal to them for all that they have done for this university, for the state, for everyone desiring a meaningful and enriched life," Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef said at the time. "I can't imagine more deserving recipients."

Indeed, Mr. Mondavi had been a well-respected and appreciated member of the UC Davis community for years before that. In 1988, for example, UC Davis faculty invited Mr. Mondavi to take a prestigious position as Regents Lecturer.

Institute for Wine and Food Science

The Mondavis' donation was combined with campus funds and other private contributions to create new state-of-the-art research and teaching facilities to house the departments of viticulture and enology, and food science and technology — both part of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The institute's first three research and instruction buildings — comprising 129,600 square feet — are nearing completion, and the grand opening is scheduled for October. A wine and food-processing laboratory will be established adjacent to the first three buildings.

Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

The Mondavi Center includes the 1,800-seat Jackson Hall and the 250-seat Studio Theatre as venues for UC Davis music, dance and theater productions, lectures, and performances by outside companies and entertainers. Jackson Hall and the Studio Theatre are both equipped with state-of-the art technical and acoustic capabilities.

The Mondavi Center serves as a resource for the campus and the region, raising the profile of the campus's arts and humanities programs to that of its top-ranked science programs.

Pat Bailey is a senior public information representative for the UC Davis News Service. Ann Filmer King is director of communications for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.