THE VINES THAT BIND The legendary legacy of Grgich Hills is a family affair. Written by Chloe Gellar / Photos courtesy of Grgich Hills Estate If not for a lone reporter who turned up to the now-legendary "Judgement of Paris" in 1976, Miljenko "Mike" Grgich's career might have taken a very different trajectory. The resulting article in Time Magazine by rookie reporter George Taber detailed how wine from two California upstarts—a 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay made by Grgich, and Warren Winiarski's 1973 Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon—bested France's finest wines. Awarded 132 points by the vaunted French judges, Grgich's Chardonnay earned the highest total score of any of the wines, red or white, in the tasting. It wasn't until a reporter from the New York Times called Grgich for a follow-up story did he learn of his remarkable achievement. The victory was the culmination of Grgich's indefatigable work ethic and constant quest for knowledge to improve his craft. The youngest of 11 children, Mike was born in Desne, Croatia in 1923, becoming part of a family with a long legacy of growing grapes and making wine. He recounts that his first taste of wine came around the age of two-and-a-half, when his mother weaned him from breastmilk to a combination of water and wine, a common practice in areas where water was often scarce and its potability questionable. 46 slmag.net
While studying enology and viticulture at the University of Zagreb in communist-controlled Croatia, Mike had a professor remark in confidence that California was a winemaker's paradise. Inspired by this vision and knowing that he could not realize his potential as a winemaker under communist rule, Mike took $32 he'd saved up over a decade and had a cobbler make a false bottom for his shoes to prevent the foreign currency from being confiscated at the border. He arrived in Canada in 1954 and made it to the Napa Valley four years later with just a single small suitcase filled with agriculture and winemaking books. A symbol of his impact on the world of wine, Mike's portmanteau went on to be part of an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution. Taking his father's advice to heart that knowledge is more valuable than property, as soon as he arrived in Napa, Mike sought out the most respected winemakers of the era. His mentors included Lee Stewart, founder of Souverain Winery, and legendary Russian winemaker André Tchelistcheff. Mike made his first Cabernet for Robert Mondavi in 1969 and joined Chateau Montelena as a winemaker and limited partner in 1972.
