Winemaker Mondavi in scrap with cork manufacturer

All is not wine and roses in California’s Napa Valley.  Gardner Technologies, a high-tech cork maker, is suing giant Robert Mondavi Winery for breach of contract over a busted deal to put a new kind of cork in Mondavi bottles.

Gardner makes a device called the “Meta Cork,” which does not require a corkscrew to remove it and also includes a cap that eliminates the need for a bottle stopper.  Gardner says it had reached a deal with Mondavi, but that company executives later pulled out.  At stake is more than the profit on that deal, according to Gardner. Mondavi was to be the company’s entry into the big time.  “If you get Bob Mondavi to place MetaCork on his wine, the entire wine industry will start using it,” the company says it was told.

Mondavi says customer focus groups did not like the new cork. Gardner seeks about $7 million in damages.