Miljenko “Mike” Grgich first gained international recognition at the celebrated “Paris Tasting” of 1976. Then, in a now-historic blind tasting, a panel of eminent French judges swirled, sniffed, and sipped an array of the fabled white Burgundies of France and a small sampling of upstart Chardonnays from the Napa Valley. When their scores were tallied, the French judges were shocked: they had chosen Mike’s 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay as the finest white wine in the world. Mon Dieu! The results stunned the international wine establishment and immediately earned Mike a reputation as one of the greatest winemakers in the world.
The Paris Tasting served notice to the world that the California wine industry was on the move, and it laid the groundwork for the creation of Grgich Hills Cellar. After his victory in Paris, Mike sat down with Austin Hills and his sister, Mary Lee Strebl, from the Hills Bros. Coffee family, and on Independence Day 1977, they gave birth to Grgich Hills. It was an ideal partnership. Austin owned premium vineyards in Rutherford, in the heart of the Napa Valley, and with his extensive background in business, he put the winery on its financial feet. Mike, with his fierce commitment to making wines of the highest quality, began producing what immediately became our signature wine: the exquisite, richly complex Chardonnays that win awards and delight wine lovers across America and throughout the world.
Today, we remain committed to making distinctive wines with quality, consistency and longevity. We are proud that world leaders such as Presidents Reagan and Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II and French President François Mitterrand chose our wines to serve at state dinners, but we are just as proud that every single day discriminating wine drinkers count on Grgich Hills to turn their own dinners into special occasions.
As always, we treat each of our six different wines as a special child, carefully nurturing their development and character. Our main pride and joy is our Chardonnay, an elegant example of the varietal displaying rich flavors and exquisite balance. As a complement to the Chardonnay, we also produce a refreshingly crisp Fumé Blanc, a rich and spicy Zinfandel, a Cabernet Sauvignon with tremendous depth and complexity, a lush and richly fragrant Merlot, and a luscious dessert wine named “Violetta,” in honor of Mike's daughter, Violet.
Now 86 years old, and still sporting his signature blue beret, Mike was inducted into the Vinter Hall of Fame in March 2008 in honor of his many contributions to the wine industry. While many other Napa wineries pursue strategies of expansion, Mike, along with his daughter, Violet, and his nephew, Ivo Jeramaz, prefer to stay small. Their aim, year after year, is to improve the quality of their vineyards and their wines, relying on Mike’s unique artistic and intuitive touch. This strategy continues to pay significant dividends. Many wineries buy their grapes from outside vineyards. Grgich Hills now owns all of its own vineyards, all of which are certified organic and Biodynamic. Beginning with the 2003 vintage, all Grgich Hills wines are labeled “Estate Grown.” This guarantees a consistently superior level of quality, and it guarantees that Grgich Hills will remain a shining symbol of prestige and good taste. In recognition of that important milestone, the winery changed its name in 2007 to Grgich Hills Estate.
Innovations
In keeping with our commitment to excellence, we continue to innovate and improve our facilities. We have upgraded our winemaking equipment with the purchase of OXOline barrel support racks, which protect our Chardonnay from oxygen contact and excessive stirring during sur lie aging. We also purchased a new crusher-stemmer, which gently separates the grapes from the stems, and a new Wilmes tank press, which handles grapes gently and effectively but is still large enough to process a truckload of grapes. Our bottling line has also been upgraded with a state-of-the-art bottling machine and corker from Bartoloso, one of the best manufacturers in the world. Our vineyards are certified organic and Biodynamic. This holistic farming practice uses the earth’s natural cycles and organic preparations to grow balanced, healthy vines without artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or fungicides. In 2006, we switched the winery to solar power.
Zinfandel & Croatia
Though he became famous as a California winemaker, a part of Mike’s heart remains firmly rooted in his native Croatia. In 1996, convinced that the mysterious origins of California Zinfandel might actually trace back to Croatia, Mike encouraged Dr. Carole Meredith, a distinguished researcher at U.C. Davis, to go to Croatia and inspect a native varietal called Plavac Mali. To Mike’s delight, Carole and a team of experts made the historic discovery that Zinfandel did indeed trace back to a Croatian grape called Crljenak (pronounced tsurl-yen-knock), the parent of Plavac Mali. This encouraged Mike to open a new winery in Croatia, both to produce wine from this special grape and to bring his lifetime of knowledge and experience back to his native country.
Community
At Grgich Hills, we believe that good business goes hand-in-hand with social responsibility. For many years Mike has worked closely with Roots of Peace, an organization dedicated to eradicating mine fields and returning land to productive agricultural use. Mike accompanied Roots of Peace founder and president, Heidi Kuhn, to Dragalic, Croatia, to inspect an area de-mined with money donated by Grgich Hills, the U.S. State Department, and the United Nations. Grgich Hills has also donated a percentage of the proceeds of Mike’s 80th birthday gala, held in 2003, to Hospice of Napa Valley. The winery has also been a longtime supporter of the Napa Valley Wine Auction, which raises money for local health care providers. Many people helped Mike achieve his dream of becoming a winemaker so in 2006 he established the Miljenko “Mike” Grgich Scholarship for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America to help the next generation achieve their own dreams.
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