Mike Grgich
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Mike Grgich (born Miljenko Grgić on April 1, 1923) is a Croatian-American winemaker. He was born into a winemaking family in the town of Desne on Croatia's coastal Dalmatian region. He attended the University of Zagreb, where he studied viticulture and enology. However, he learned about California and wanted leave the then-Yugoslavia to become a winemaker there. In 1954, he fled communist Yugoslavia to West Germany, obtaining a fellowship to study there. From there he emigrated to Canada and upon finally receiving a job offer from a winery in California, Grgich was able to go there.
After working at a number of wineries in the Napa Valley — including Souverain Winery, Christian Brothers Cellars, Beaulieu Vineyard (working alongside André Tchelistcheff), and Robert Mondavi — Grgich became the winemaker and limited partner at Chateau Montelena. His 1973 vintage Chardonnay was selected for competition in the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, where it was ranked the number one white wine.
This success permitted Grgich to establish his own winery, Grgich Hills Cellar in Rutherford, California, which owns 365 acres (147 ha) of vineyards and produces 80,000 cases of wine each year. Its very first vintage won the Great Chardonnay Showdown, with 221 competitors from countries around the world.
[edit] See also
[edit] Source
Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner, 2005.
[edit] External link
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