Money. Prestige. Alcoholism. Suicide. Betrayal. It sounds like the makings of a great prime-time television series, but it's actually just some of the drama that has surrounded Napa Valley's famed Mondavi family. In her new book, "The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty" (Gotham Books, 452 pages, $28), Julia Flynn Siler gives the reader a peek into the family's life, starting out when Rosa and Cesare Mondavi immigrated to the United States from Italy, and leading us through the twists and turns this family has experienced in the 100 years following.

From SeattlePI.com:

Flynn Siler interviewed 250 people for the exhaustively detailed "House of Mondavi," which is not authorized by the family although she did speak with most of the family members. A reporter for The Wall Street Journal, she began her research with this question: Why was Robert Mondavi's son, Michael, taking a leave of absence from his duties as chairman?
"The post is unusual for a sabbatical, as it's already a ceremonial one," she explained in a phone interview from her home in San Francisco. Two other peculiarities alerted her to the story: The company had for the first time appointed a non-family member as chief executive officer. And the PR office at Robert Mondavi Corp. -- famously open to all press -- refused to answer questions.

This sounds like fascinating reading, and I can imagine that even someone who is not the least bit interested in wine could get caught up in the plot. I have to imagine that Napa Valley is full of stories similar to the Mondavis, who just happen to be a highly recognized name in the American wine business. And I also have to wonder just how happy (or, rather, unhappy) the folks in Napa are with this book.