In 1988, vintner Robert Mondavi, his wife Margrit Biever Mondavi, and other leaders in the wine community began to explore the idea of establishing a small institution in the Napa County to educate, promote, and celebrate American excellence and achievements in the culinary, winemaking, and visual arts arenas.
A native of Appenzell, Switzerland, Margrit was raised in her family home overlooking Lake Maggiore, in the canton of Ticino.
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Margrit played a key role in securing the downtown Napa location for the center, which opened in November 2001.
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One of the first things Margrit did was establish a fine arts program at the winery that brought many different kinds of artists to the winery including Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebaud and Nathan Oliveira.
In 1997 Robert Mondavi and his wife Margrit issued a challenge grant of $2.2 million to spur the theatre's reconstruction towards the total cost of $13.7 million for the project.
In 1967, the woman who would later become Robert Mondavi's second wife, Margrit (Kellenberger) Biever Mondavi, joined the winery.