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                                   EXHIBIT 18



                    LETTER RE CHANGE IN ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLE


To the Board of Directors
of The Robert Mondavi Corporation

We have been furnished with a copy of the Corporation's Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended September 30, 1998. Note 1 therein describes a change in the
method of determining the cost of inventories from the last-in, first-out (LIFO)
method to the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. It should be understood that
the preferability of one acceptable method of inventory accounting over another
has not been addressed in any authoritative accounting literature and in
arriving at our opinion expressed below, we have relied on management's business
planning and judgement. Based upon our discussions with management and the
stated reasons for the change, we believe that such change represents, in your
circumstances, the adoption of a preferable alternative accounting principle for
inventories in conformity with Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 20.

We have not made an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing
standards of the financial statements of The Robert Mondavi Corporation for the
three-month periods ended September 30, 1998 or 1997 and, accordingly, we
express no opinion thereon or on the financial information filed as part of the
Form 10-Q of which this letter is to be an exhibit.

Yours very truly,


/s/  PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP
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PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
San Francisco, CA
October 19, 1998