Most wine consumers want to know little more than: How much does it cost, and does it taste good? Beyond those basics, though, there is a universal aspect of the California wine industry that goes unnoticed by wine consumers: A wine brand implies no nationality. The backstory to the success of that brand is often due to the efforts of business interests from two (or more) different countries working together, such as the success of the French owned Domaine Chandon and the Americans who guided and developed its success.
In 1973, American business consultant John Wright became founding president and chairman of M&H (Möet & Hennessy) Vineyards, parent firm of Napa’s Domaine Chandon, the first major French wine investment, and the first foreign-owned sparkling wine producer in the United States. The second employee of the new company was Michaela Rodeno, a recent MBA graduate of UC-Berkeley Haas School of Business. Rodeno, who is fluent in French, was 
tutored and mentored by Wright, and eventually she was elevated to CEO of Domaine Chandon, a rare distinction among California wine industry leaders, as there were few women in leadership positions at the time.
Now devoting her time mainly to public relations and marketing consulting and working with her husband Gregory Rodeno to develop Villa Ragazzi, a Napa Valley specialist in Sangiovese, Rodeno has written a personal account of the joys and frustrations of building the Domaine Chandon brand in “From Bubbles to Boardrooms,” the first of a two-volume series. Sub-titled, “Act 1: Startups are Such Fun,” the slim first installment covers the period when Rodeno worked with Wright to get Domaine Chandon off the ground and on its way to becoming a financial and critical success.
“Bubbles” is a quick read (even for a slow reader like me) and it becomes obvious early on that the meeting of John Wright and Michaela Rodeno was serendipitous. Before he died in 2012, Wright told his daughter that, “The day (Rodeno) walked in that garage door was the best day of his work life.” For her part, Rodeno dedicates her book to Wright (and her husband) and frequently mentions his guidance over the years throughout the book. “Working with John Wright was an open-ended adventure. He was a leader, not a manager and his unintentional mentoring had a profound impact on my formative years.”
Rodeno packs a lot of inside information into the 88 pages divided into 30 short chapters. As a fledging wine writer living in Colorado, I heard about this new multi-national collaboration in the Napa Valley in the early 1970s, and continued to follow the rise of Domaine Chandon over the years. But I didn’t know that Chandon got its start at Trefethen Vineyards in the Oak Knoll District of southern Napa Valley. And that the Trefethen winery building, vacant since the 1950s, was equipped, with the help of M & H Vineyards, for a new life of winemaking. Nor was I aware of the contribution of Winery Lake Vineyards in Carneros to the development of Domaine Chandon, or how a French Percheron draft horse played a role in the building of the Chandon winery in Yountville.
These are but two of the many anecdotes scattered throughout the book that give the reader more than just cold historical facts. Rodeno has an easy way of telling her story and you frequently find yourself saying, “Really, I didn’t know that.” Granted, many of the anecdotes are small personal snapshots, but they clearly illustrate the fraternal relationships and mutual back scratching that, in the early 1970s, set the California wine industry apart from other growing U.S. businesses.
“Bubbles” is mostly a positive look at the complexities of the wine business in the Napa Valley, but Rodeno occasionally shows a fiery side to her personality, such as in her encounter with the famous French chef, Paul Bocuse whom she calls “The Big Hat.” Bocuse showed up at the winery with his knickers in a twist on account of not being met at the San Francisco airport. After venting to everyone within earshot, The Big Hat then forgave Rodeno, who was in charge of the luncheon, and then displayed an unwelcomed side of his chauvinism. “The offended me never misses an opportunity to reveal this great chef’s condescension, lack of consideration and ego,” says Rodeno.
Then there is the author’s account of the back and forth dealings with Napa County’s Planning Department. M&H Vineyards wanted an operating permit for a restaurant in the Chandon winery and it was Rodeno’s job to deal with the bureaucracy, a task that Rodeno says was compounded by the suspicious Planning Commission members. “They seemed to think we were trying to pull a fast one, and during the public hearing I was grilled extensively about our real plans. I took their mistrust personally, but in the end the commissioners approved the plan as presented. The Board of Supervisors blessed their decision, and we had out use permit.” Another insider snapshot with this afterthought: “To this day Domaine Chandon is the only winery in Napa County’s Ag Preserve with a restaurant open to the public.”
The remaining chapters talk about “Brand Building,” dealing with “Rules and More Rules,” Rodeno’s professional relationship and friendship with the noted food writer M.F.K. Fisher, the creation of Domaine Chandon’s popular Blanc de Noirs and the development of The Chandon Club, an industry-first in the 1980s and more. Rodeno sprinkles French words and terms throughout her book and while that can be annoying for the mono-lingual reader, she does provide a short glossary.
In the last chapter, Rodeno writes about the need for change and her meeting with Robert Skalli, French owner of St. Supery, who becomes her next boss, but that’s the story in Act II.
“From Bubbles to Boardrooms Act 1: Startups are Such Fun,” Michaela Kane Rodeno, Villa Ragazzi Press, print ($11.99), electronic ($7.99) from Amazon.com, (ISBN 978-0-9896342-0-5).
WRO Columnist Emeritus Gerald Boyd contributes book reviews in this space on a regular basis from his so-called "retirement."
6