• by Karl Greenberg , August 6, 2007

If the movie "Sideways" says anything about the wine industry, it's that people not only love to drink wine, they love to visit wineries. To try to bring that experience to a broader audience, the Robert Mondavi Private Selection brand is going to begin a road show that lends a winery experience to a multi-city grassroots effort.

The California wine maker is launching "Crush in the City" an educational tour that visits eight cities from August through mid-October. The tour, which visits events, explains how wine is made and offers visitors a chance to taste various Mondavi wines.

According to the San Francisco-based Wine Institute, a trade group for California vineyards, tourism to wine regions in California is helping to fuel U.S. interest in wine.

"Crush in the City," which includes an interactive set intended to look and feel like a winery, features Ted Allen of "Top Chef," "Iron Chef America" and PBS' "Uncorked." It includes a display about wine production, an interactive program on how to pair wines with meals, a "heritage" element about Robert Mondavi, and--of course--a wine-tasting bar, featuring varietals from the Mondavi Private Selection portfolio.

The tour stops at the Gold Coast Art Fair in Chicago; the Queen Mary at Long Beach, Calif.; the Taste of Cleveland event; Harvest in the Square in New York City; as well as Princeton, N.J., Boston's Beantown Jazz Festival and Atlanta.

According to the Wine Institute, retail value of California wines increased by 8% in a market that the group says is being driven by a "masstige"--or affordable-luxury--a trend favoring wines priced over $7 a bottle. Most of Robert Mondavi Private Selection wines fall into that area, with most bearing a suggested retail price of $11. The Wine Institute says the lion's share of California wine sales in the U.S. in 2006 were in the $8-$15 range with rapid growth in sales of wine above $15.

Robert Mondavi Private Selection is produced by Centerra Wine Company, which produces both mid-range and premium wines under the Constellation Wines U.S. banner. Contellation's U.S. arm also owns Icon Estates, Pacific Wine Partners and North lake Wines.