Wine Industry Report

Constellation Brands, Inc. today announced the Robert Mondavi Winery has donated the land under the newly-renovated Mondavi Farm Worker Housing Center to the Napa Valley Housing Authority (NVHA). With the transfer in ownership, the NVHA is eligible to receive up to $1.4 million in state grants that will contribute to maintaining Napa County’s farm worker housing.

“In donating the land where this important facility is located, we are helping to ensure there will be housing in perpetuity for the vineyard workers who are such an integral component of Napa Valley’s wine industry,” said Chris Fehrnstrom, president of Icon Estates, Constellation Brands’ fine wine group. “We are pleased to play a role that reinforces our long-standing heritage and tradition of helping people who contribute to the success of our wine business, and the wine industry throughout the Napa Valley.”

The Mondavi Center land and original camp were leased to the NVHA by the Robert Mondavi Winery in 1993. The center was renovated in 2006, providing accommodations for 60 people, including new dormitory rooms, a commercial kitchen, dining hall and laundry facilities, in addition to television and quiet areas on each floor. As part of a reorganization of the way farm worker housing is administered in Napa Valley, the NVHA will transfer responsibility for the Mondavi Housing Center over to the Napa County Housing Authority.