The Croatian-American oenologist and winemaker Miljenko "Mike" Grgich (1923-2023) is considered an important pioneer of US viticulture and was already a legend during his lifetime. In recognition of his contribution to the wine industry, Grgić was inducted into the Hall of Fame of "The Culinary Institute of America" on 7 March 2008. He was also known as "the grand old man in the beret" because of his favourite headgear. His family owned a small winery in Desne Dalmatia. Grgich studied oenology at the University of Zagreb and emigrated to California in 1958.
He spent nine years at Beaulieu Vineyard as the main chemist responsible for quality control. During this time, together with the Russian oenologist André Tchelistcheff (1901-1994), he was also involved in the first malolactic fermentation experiments carried out in California. He also worked intensively with various yeasts and barrique ageing. Mike Grgich was one of the first winemakers to develop Zinfandel as a rose-coloured white wine called White Zinfandel. From 1968 to 1972, he worked at Mondavi and then at the Chateau Montelena winery as the responsible cellar master. At the latter, he created the 1973 Chardonnay, which won first place at the legendary Paris Wine Tasting in 1976 ahead of renowned wines from Burgundy and California.
In 1977, the Grgich Hills winery was founded in Rutherford in the Napa Valley with the Hills family. The Hills family is the owner, Mike Grgich was the responsible cellar master. The vineyards cover 366 hectares of vines in the Rutherford, Calistoga, Carneros, Yountville and American Canyon areas. They are mainly planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel. The sustainable, organic cultivation follows the certified rules of biodynamic viticulture and does not use herbicides or pesticides.
Grgich specialises in Chardonnay wines, many of whose vintages have won top awards worldwide. His very first vintage in 1977 won the "Great Chardonnay Showdown" in Chicago in 1980 ahead of 221 competitors. Around 60,000 cases (720,000 bottles) of wine are produced each year. In 2022, the winery was ranked among the "100 Best Wineries" by Wine & Spirits magazine. After the collapse of Yugoslavia, Miljenko Grgich returned to Croatia in the early 1990s and founded the Grgić Vina winery near Trstenik on the Pelješac peninsula in 1996.
Portrait: Grgich Vina
Grgich Hills winery: Grgich Hills
