Renowned Napa Valley winemaker Mijenko ‘Mike’ Grgich dies at 100
(KRON) — Mijenko “Mike” Grgich, a renowned and beloved figure in the Napa Valley wine scene has died at 100, according to a post on his winery’s website. Grgich became internationally famous in the wine world when he crafted the Chardonnay that won the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
That year marked a watershed moment in the wine world when two Napa Valley wines won top honors over renowned French wines in a blind tasting conducted by French wine critics.
Grgich was born the youngest of 11 children in the village of Desne, Croatia, according to the memorial posted by his winery, Grgich Hills Estate. His father also made wine and some of his earliest memories were of “stomping grapes at harvest,” his winery said.
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It was “after living through harrowing experiences in World War II” that he decided to become a winemaker like his father, his winery said. He went on to study enology and viticulture at the University of Zagreb.
He made his way to California through a United Nations agricultural exchange program with Germany “with a few American dollars hidden in his shoe and a suitcase filled with winemaking books.” He eventually arrived in California in 1958 and began his illustrious career as a winemaker.
He eventually landed at Chateau Montelena, a startup winery in Calistoga. He suggested the winery make a white wine since it was quicker to bring to market than red.
“Mike played an integral role at the start of Chateau Montelena’s modern history as our first winemaker and will always have a special place in our hearts,” the winery said in a social media post paying tribute to Grgich.
His second vintage of Chardonnay took him to Paris where he won the Paris Challenge. This enabled him to open his own winery in 1977. He remained in charge of Grgich Hills until 2018 when at age 95, he handed control over to his daughter.
The suitcase he carried to the US is now at the Smithsonian Institution, along with two bottles of his wines.
“Mike’s enduring legacy extends far beyond his remarkable wines, his dedication to sustainability, his mentorship of future winemakers, and his unwavering commitment to his Croatian heritage,” read a post from Grgich Hills on Facebook. “He will be remembered by his family, his many friends, his beloved Grgich Hills Estate team, and the countless lives he’s touched across the globe as a man of kindness, joy, passion, curiosity, and unending gratitude. He will be deeply missed.”
“Saddened to learn of the passing of Mike Grgich,” read a statement from Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) who represents Napa. “Mike was a trailblazing winemaker and developed many of the techniques that helped make Napa Valley wine the best in the world.”
Thompson added that he went back decades with the winemaker and that his mother was the first bookkeeper at Grgich Hills.
An obituary for Grgich in the San Francisco Chronicle noted that he was sued by three former employees for sexual harassment; two sisters who claim he harassed them when they were 17 and 19, and a bookkeeper who said she was fired for refusing his advances.
All three parties settled out of court, according to the newspaper.
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