“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Romeo & Juliet, Act II, Scene 2

What’s the difference between Grgic and Grgich?  Looked at one way, there is almost no difference – they are just an “h” apart. Looked at differently, they are about 6,271 miles apart.  In the tiny town of Trstenik, Croatia, a literal stone’s throw from the Dalmatian Sea, sits the Grgic Vina winery.

This winery, founded by Miljenko Grgic, a Croatian-born winemaker, can be found on the famous Peljesac Peninsula where the best Plavac Mali grapes are grown.  This winery produces both a red wine (Plavac Mali) as well as a white wine (Posip). Both grapes are indigenous to Croatia and have unique, structured aroma and flavor profiles.

 

Miljenko Grgic moved to the United States decades ago to pursue the American dream.  Along the way, “Miljenko” became “Mike” and Grigic gained an “h” to help Americans pronounce it more easily.  Today, Grgich Hills Winery in Napa Valley is one of the most respected operations in the world.

In the past month, we had the privilege to visit both Grgic and Grgich, 6,271 miles apart in distance but much closer together in vision, philosophy, style and quality.  We were at Grgic Vina in Croatia on Halloween and at Grgich Hills in Napa the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  At the Croatian winery, the tasting was two wines; our Napa tasting was a little bit more elaborate and came with a winery tour led by a genuinely nice and knowledgeable guide, Marty.

We have visited Grgich Napa before for tasting but had not taken the tour.  We really enjoyed visiting the barrel rooms (always a fun show!) and hearing about the production methods for the white and red wines.

During the tour, one of us fell in love …

Not to be greedy, but wouldn’t a 1,500 gallon container of wine be the best gift?  There are lots of giving occasions coming up in December; just saying.

After the tour Marty led us to our table in the wine library where we sat down to a great wine and cheese pairing.

We started with Chardonnay as expected given that Miljenko is widely regarded as the “King of Chardonnay.”  This informal title has been bestowed as a result of two major milestones in the history of American wine:  Mike making the chardonnay that beat the best makers of French Chardonnay at the Judgement of Paris in 1976; and Mike’s chardonnay beating 221 other wines at an international tasting competition in Chicago in 1980.

We knew we would like the Grgich wines as we have tasted at the winery before and are members of the Wine Club.  What we were more interested in was seeing how similar the wine would taste to those that we sampled at Grgic Vina in Croatia.   Interestingly, the Zinfandel we tasted was very similar to the Plavac Mali that we had in Croatia.  Genetic testing has determined that the Plavac Mali is a relative of Zinfandel and this relationship was clearly evident in both the aroma and flavor of both wines.

We will be back to Grgich Napa soon for some club event or other, no doubt.  It is a strong hope, though, that we can get back to Grgic Vina soon as well – perhaps when the new winery building has its grand opening.  We also hope that, if we make it, that Miljenko will be able to make it as well.

John & Irene Ingersoll

November 30, 2016

• Winery Visits