The renowned Croatian winemaker Miljenko Grgich, known as the king of Chardonnay, passed away on December 13 at the age of 101, his winery announced, reports Jutarnji.
Miljenko ‘Mike’ Grgich was a true living legend: a man whose Chardonnay overwhelmingly defeated all French wines at the famous Paris blind tasting (Judgement of Paris) 47 years ago, which were then considered the only wines of value, thus opening the doors to the globalization of the wine industry.
Without that event, perhaps today we would not drink as much Californian, Australian, New Zealand, Chilean – and ultimately – Croatian wines. He was a co-founder of one of the most famous wineries in Napa, Grgich Hills, in 1977, and his efforts played a significant role in the rise of Napa to global importance as one of the best wine regions in the world.
He was born on April 1, 1923, in Desne in the Neretva Valley in Croatia, in a rural family that owned a small vineyard and winery. Miljenko learned winemaking skills from an early age by helping his family. He graduated in 1954 from the University of Zagreb, majoring in enology and viticulture. That same year, he went to Germany, and 18 months later to Canada, to Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1958, he managed to obtain a U.S. visa and arrived in Aberdeen, Washington, and shortly thereafter in California, in Napa Valley.
