Robert Mondavi Winery, the quintessential promoter of California wine, said Thursday it is moving in next door to the Happiest Place on Earth.
The Napa Valley winery is the first outside sponsor of an attraction at Walt Disney Co.'s new theme park, California Adventure, which opens in Anaheim beside Disneyland in 2001.
Angled more toward adults than Disneyland, the park is part of efforts by Disney and Anaheim to make the city a multiple-day stop for more tourists.
Mondavi will build a $10-million "wine country experience" on one acre of the 55-acre park, with educational films, wine-tasting areas and grapevines. No wine will be made on the premises.
Customers will be able to purchase bottles and cases of wine, but will have to pick them up at a site outside the park.
Officials said age checks and monitoring of customers' behavior will be tight.
"It's the same thing we do at the winery," said Greg Brady, Mondavi's vice president for new business. "We don't like to see anyone getting out of control."
Disneyland has never served alcoholic beverages to the general public, though they are available at the members-only Club 33 in the New Orleans Square area of the park. The no-alcohol policy will continue in the original park.
At the new park, the Mondavi facility will be in a section called The Golden State, which will focus on California culture. The park likely will include places to buy micro-brewed beers, Mexican food and other California culinary staples to complement the winery's offerings, sources said.
Those wishing to sample Mondavi's better Napa Valley and Reserve wines, along with fancy hors d'oeuvres like foie gras, can book groups into an upstairs room similar to a private testing room at the Mondavi winery in Oakville.
The wine-food tastings will run about $20 upstairs and $10 downstairs, where customers will sit on a patio to enjoy their purchases, Mondavi officials said.
Mondavi has led the industry in promoting wine as a healthy part of everyday life, including labels that mention biblical references to wine. The company is no stranger to Orange County, where it hosts weddings, private parties and educational gatherings at a wine and food center in Costa Mesa.
With 7.5 million visitors expected annually at California Adventure, the new park seemed a good way to extend the franchise, said Chief Executive Michael Mondavi.
