Happy 90th Birthday Mr. Grgich!

Image from grgich.com

Mike Grgich turned 90 on April 1st. He was part of a Croatian winemaking family. Miljenko (Mike) left then communist Yugoslavia and eventually found his way to California. His first major achievement was as the winemaker responsible for the famous 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay from the Judgement of Paris that set up California to become a premium wine region.

With that success he started Grgich Cellars in 1977 and started making his own award-winning Chardonnay and later Zinfandel. He was one of the first to believe Zinfandel originated in his native Croatia. This was confirmed about ten years ago by DNA testing.

On April 13th the winery will host a birthday party for Mike honoring his many life achievements in the wine industry.

Happy birthday and thank you!