Tag: Miljenko Grgich

Miljenko "Mike" Grgich, who co-founded Grgich Hills Estate with Austin Hills, started in the wine business at the bottom. Born into a winemaking family on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, one of his first memories is stomping grapes in a half-barrel when he was just 2.5-years-old.

Mike’s journey, from his peasant upbringing in communist Yugoslavia to Vintners Hall of Fame inductee in the Napa Valley, sounds like a Hollywood movie. He arrived in the Napa Valley in 1958 and worked for some of the region’s iconic wineries—Souverain, Christian Brothers, Beaulieu Vineyard, and Robert Mondavi Winery—before becoming winemaker at Chateau Montelena Winery.