Calif. wine patriarch Robert Mondavi dead at 94

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Robert Mondavi, the vintner who built his career and helped an iconic Northern California industry blossom by insisting that Napa Valley wines can compete with the best in the world, died in the valley Friday. He was 94.

Mondavi died peacefully at his home in Yountville, Robert Mondavi Winery spokeswoman Mia Malm said.

"It is hard to imagine anyone having more of a lasting impact on California's $20 billion-a-year wine industry than Robert Mondavi," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. Mondavi, said the governor, was "a tireless entrepreneur who transformed how the world felt about California wine, and an unforgettable personality to everyone who knew him."

The U.S Wine Industry

* The retail value of wine produced in the United States in 2005 was $23.8 billion, about 73 percent of the total wine sold in the United States.

* About 90 percent of the volume of wine produced in the United States comes from California. California-produced wines also account for 95 percent of the value of all U.S. wine sold.

* An estimated 305 million cases of wine from all sources were sold in the United States in 2006.

* The vast majority of wineries in the United States produce less than 5,000 cases of wine per year. Together these wineries represent less than two percent of all the wine the United States produces but a major share of the wine costing more than $30/bottle.