overall: 9 1/2 in x 6 3/4 in x 3/4 in; 24.13 cm x 17.145 cm x 1.905 cm
Object Name:
book
Date published:
1952
Description:
This 1952 text book on plant diseases, pests, and farming is one of several used by Miljenko “Mike” Grgich during his course of study in viticulture and enology at the University of Zagreb, which he began in 1949. It was among the books he carried with him when he left Croatia due to political unrest in 1954, having accepted a United Nations fellowship to continue his studies in West Germany. Months after completing the fellowship he received a visa to Canada, where he lived for two years before landing a job in the place of his dreams, California’s Napa Valley.
Grgich worked briefly for Lee Stewart of Napa’s Chateau Souverain, and for Brother Timothy at Christian Brothers. In 1959 he began working in the laboratory at Beaulieu Vineyards, under the supervision of André Tchelistcheff, a Russian enologist and fellow immigrant. In 1968, Grgich was hired by Robert Mondavi to be part of his new winery in Oakville, and in 1972 he became the winemaker at Chateau Montelena.
Grgich made the 1973 Chardonnay for Chateau Montelena that placed first in the 1976 Paris Tasting, an event that brought international attention to the wines being produced by a new generation of California winemakers. Grgich’s success allowed him to establish his own winery with Austin Hills in 1977.
