Robert Mondavi Jr. and Lydia Mondavi aren't the first people to create wood floors from empty wine barrels, but they may very well be the most famous. As the fourth generation of Mondavi family winemakers and the creator/founder of the 29 Cosmetics luxury skin care and cosmetics collection, respectively, Robert and Lydia have partnered exclusively with Authentic Reclaimed Pine Floors (Locust Grove, Ga.) to create Reserve Barrel-a new, limited-edition interior oak floor collection made from Mondavi wine barrels. Samples of the Mondavi Home Collection will be unveiled at NAHB International Builders' Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday and Thursday.
"Winemaking families for generations have accented their homes with oak cask wood floors," Robert said in a statement, explaining the inspiration for this design. "I'm constantly amazed at the beauty and depth of penetration that the wines impart into the actual wood. After years of aging the wines, the oak flooring holds a piece of wine-making history that we have now captured."
Made from French oak and recycled from barrel-heads used in the production of Mondavi wine, Robert hand-selects the barrel-heads at the end of each harvest. Authentic Pine Floors then dismantles and mills each wine cask into flooring. For more information about Reserve Barrel's rollout this week, click here.
