{"id":251,"date":"2016-04-30T20:47:26","date_gmt":"2016-04-30T20:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=251"},"modified":"2023-12-30T19:05:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-30T19:05:33","slug":"grgich-hills-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=251","title":{"rendered":"Grgich Hills Estate"},"content":{"rendered":"

We didn\u2019t get the chance to visit any wineries in Croatia, so we can\u2019t include a winery review in this issue of Power Tasting.\u00a0 Instead, we\u2019re reprising a review of Grgich Hills from the April 2016 issue.\u00a0 Why Grgich Hills and why now?\u00a0 This is an edition of Power Tasting dedicated to Croatia and its wines.\u00a0 Mike Grgich is one of California\u2019s best known and beloved winemakers and is undoubtedly the best known winemaker of Croatian descent anywhere.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>As noted below, Mr. Grgich has in recent years grown grapes and made wine in his native country.\u00a0 While there may be some exceptions we\u2019re not aware of, the only place you can buy his Plavac Mali or Posip in the United States is at the Grgich Hills winery in Rutherford.\u00a0 Interestingly, the winery is now growing Crjenak Castelanski in California.\u00a0 They claim that this grape is either a predecessor, distant cousin or twin sister of Zinfandel.\u00a0 We offer no opinion, but love the idea that someone is trying to make an unheard of wine in Napa Valley.<\/em><\/p>\n


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The Croatians are very proud of Mike Grgich and feature his local wines prominently.\u00a0 Look closely at the wines displayed at the Dubrovnik Enoteca and you\u2019ll see his Plavac Mali on the barrel head.<\/em><\/p>\n

Shortly after this issue went to press, Power Tasting learned of the death of\u00a0Miljenko (Mike) Grgich at age 100.\u00a0 We wish to remember the life and career of a great winemaker.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There really isn\u2019t anyplace left in Napa Valley where you can visit a winery the way it was in the beginning of the region\u2019s rise to worldwide prominence.\u00a0 There are more than a few wineries you can visit that were originated by the old-timers: Joseph Phelps, Caymus, Robert Mondavi, Heitz Cellars, Beaulieu Vineyards and Chateau Montelena come quickly to mind.\u00a0 But these are all rather palatial and bear little resemblance to what were once essentially factory buildings surrounded by farms.\u00a0 If there is one place that has preserved at least a bit of the atmosphere of the 1970\u2019s, it\u2019s Grgich Hills Estate.<\/p>\n

Its story is almost as important as its physical presence.\u00a0 Miljenko Grgich, universally known as Mike, was the winemaker at Chateau Montelena who made the winning white wine at the famous Judgement of Paris in 1976.\u00a0 He needed capital to open his own winery and so teamed with coffee magnate\u00a0Austin Hills to found Grgich Hills.\u00a0 Quite elderly now, he can still be seen on occasion at the winery, keeping an eye on his heritage.<\/p>\n

The winery itself is a simple, vine-covered industrial building.\u00a0 It sits right along Route 29 in Rutherford and at some times the Wine Train runs right in front of it.\u00a0 What the Grgich Hills lacks in architectural splendor it makes up in authenticity and a welcoming atmosphere.\u00a0 The building is surrounded by vineyards and gardens.\u00a0 The tasting room is a wood-paneled bar, much like the sort you might build yourself if you were setting up a party room in your basement.\u00a0 The servers are usually friendly and efficient and try to make your visit enjoyable and memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"grgich1\"The Grgich Hills winery \u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/td>\n\"grgich2\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The tasting ro<\/a>om<\/p>\n

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Like many Napa Valley wineries, Grgich Hills produces wines from a wide number of varietals.\u00a0 It is best known for its Chardonnay which is what has come to typify Napa Chardonnays: buttery, oaky, deeply flavored, full of fruit.\u00a0 Depending on your tastes it is either the apogee of what California has to offer or an avatar of the excess that California has allowed itself.\u00a0 In trying the Grgich Hills chard, you can calibrate your mouth on the scale of California white wines.<\/p>\n

Grgich Hills also has well-regarded Zinfandels and Cabernet Sauvignons, again highly fruit forward and intense.\u00a0 Over the years, we have bought their Merlot more often than any other of their wines.\u00a0 They also offer a few oddities, especially the Croatian wines from Mike\u2019s own vineyards in his native land.\u00a0 You can taste grapes utterly unknown in America, like the white Po\u0161ip and the red Plavac Mali.\u00a0 They\u2019re something like\u2026well, nothing that we\u2019ve ever tasted before.\u00a0 If you have a chance, you should taste Grgich Hills\u2019 renowned dessert wine, Violeta, named for his daughter who now runs the estate.<\/p>\n

Stepping up to the bar is rewarding, but if you\u2019d like to go deeper, the winery offers a number of tours and seated tastings.\u00a0 The latter may be a good choice on weekends, when every winery on Route 29 is jam-packed.\u00a0 Grgich Hills also has one attraction that we consider to be just plain silly.\u00a0\u00a0 For $30 ($15 for kids) you can take off your shoes and stomp grapes.\u00a0 You\u2019ll get a tasting, a stomping, a t-shirt and sticky feet.\u00a0 It\u2019s not our thing, but it\u2019s quite popular.<\/p>\n

A great thing about Grgich Hills is its combined sense of history and modernity.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the places where it all started, under the guidance of a winemaker who helped define Napa Valley.\u00a0 But it is still contemporary, with wines that have evolved\u2026a bit.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the last independently owned, quality wineries in the valley, which by itself makes Grgich Hills worth a visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We didn\u2019t get the chance to visit any wineries in Croatia, so we can\u2019t include a winery review in this issue of Power Tasting.\u00a0 Instead, we\u2019re reprising a review of Grgich Hills from the April 2016 issue.\u00a0 Why Grgich Hills and why now?\u00a0 This is an edition of Power Tasting dedicated to Croatia and its … Continue reading Grgich Hills Estate<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2532,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions\/2532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}