Sadly, the well-known Miljenko Grgić has gone away. He created a huge global reputation for himself and Croatian wine in general.
Prolific winemaker Miljenko Grgić, affectionately known as the “King of Chardonnay,” passed away on December 13, 2023, as reported by Poslovni Dnevnik.
A remarkably well-known and highly prominent member of the Croatian diaspora was Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, as he is known in the United States. On April 1, 1923, he was born in the Neretva Valley’s settlement of Desne, which is part of the Kula Norinska Municipality. He was the eleventh child and youngest. Like many of the villagers in that remote region of Dalmatia’s far south at the time, his family maintained a modest vineyard and made wine.
According to 24sata, Miljenko had his first taste of watered-down wine when he was just older than two years old. At the age of three, he began working in the vineyard a year later, learning the ins and outs of the job while walking on the harvested grapes with his father.
From a young age, he developed a genuine enthusiasm for wine and learned everything there was to know about its production. This passion would not only accompany him throughout his life, but also influence it.