War of the Banks

I needed to meet up with a bank officer regarding my banking matters yesterday so off I went to the bank, which I haven’t done for a long time. These days, I do most of my banking online. Once there, I noticed that the bank’s façade had a facelift, which I thought was really nice. As I stepped inside, I saw that they have made major changes to the bank’s layout, from installing the best espresso machine to fixing some computers for their customers to use while waiting for their turn.

I quickly located the officer I needed to see and soon was discussing my banking matters. Once that was done, I asked him about the bank’s renovation. He said the bank needed to improve their image and wanted to provide a better and more relaxing atmosphere for their customers. I remember saying to myself that instead of putting money into renovating the bank, they could use that money to pay me a better interest. That would certainly make me a happier customer.

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Robert Mondavi Winery

By now, the story is well known both to this wine club as well as the general public. A range of differences, from quality concerns to wine styles led Robert Mondavi to break away from his family owned winery and named Charles Krug to begin his own venture only a short drive down now historic Highway 29 in Napa.

So far ahead of its time in so many ways over a period of at least forty years, Mondavi was the first Napa Valley winery to focus on quality still table wines instead of the cheaper versions which were popular to that point. It is also among the first wineries to go public, bringing in a financial windfall for the family and allowing the winery to expand production.

No matter any problems which the winery has had over the years, results speak for themselves and Mondavi is now perhaps the biggest name in not only American wine, but wine anywhere in the world.

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