Tribute - Miljenjo ‘Mike’ Grgich

We honor and pay tribute to Miljenko ‘Mike’ Grgich, a Croatian immigrant, who led a remarkable life and showed global citizens what is possible for our world and within each one of us—if we believe, dream and work together.  Mike trailblazed the wine industry to show the world that Napa Valley rivaled France’s wines like never before, but he also found a pathway through the minefields to heal the wounds of war and plant peace through agriculture benefiting millions of farmers and families worldwide.  

His Heavenly passing during the Season of Peace—age 100 years young--deeply inspires us to never cease working for a better and more just world.

On September 21, 1997, following the tragic death of both Princess Diana and Mother Teresa, I made a prophetic toast ‘May the world go from Mines to Vines’—replacing minefields with vineyards and orchards worldwide.  As a young mother with four small children living in Marin County, California, I could not imagine a world where there were an estimated 60 million landmines in 60 countries—where children could not kick a soccer ball out of bounds or where farmers could not plow their field without the fear of losing a limb or life due to an explosive remnant of war left behind.

And, so I was led on a quest to the Napa Valley to meet prominent vintners like Miljenko ‘Mike’ Grgich, who was born in 1923 in small village on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast.  Armed with only the seed of an idea, Mike was a man of great faith and told me that… “If  you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, you may move mountains, and nothing is impossible for you.” (Matthew 17: 20-21).

As the Balkan War raged, Mike learned that his beloved homeland had an estimated 1.2 million landmines/UXO sown into the soil/soul of the land he once walked freely as a child.  His mentor in the wine industry, Robert Mondavi, hosted a private fundraiser to raise $30,000 to eradicate landmines in Dragalic, Croatia, along the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The U.S. Department of State matched these funds, and the International Trust Fund (ITF) matched it again.

In May 2000—the first year of the new millennium—Mike joined me and my daughter Kyleigh, age 13, on a visit to the minefields of Croatia to detonate a landmine on Mother’s Day.This was a tribute to the mothers whose children lost their lives to landmines, as it takes only eight pounds to detonate—the average weight of a newborn child.   In the hot sun, we drove with a delegation from the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb to see firsthand the devastation of war.

Mike returned to Napa Valley with a renewed conviction to support Roots of Peace, and hosted the 25th Anniversary of Grgich Hills Estate at Domaine Chandon, where over 60 vintners donated their fine wines in an effort to turn MINES TO VINES—replacing landmines with vineyards in Croatia.  Over $60,000 was raised, and again the U.S. Department of State and ITF giving us the funds to remove additional landmines in Vukovar, Ilok, Ciste Male, Ciste Velika, Bibijne, Bastica and Karlovac.

Over the years, Mike engaged the trust of fellow legendary vintners to support the efforts of Roots of Peace—Diane Disney Miller, Tor Kenward, Eric Wente, Dennis Cakebread, Darioush Khalidi, Maria Castellucci, Gina Gallo and many others.

Turning ideas into reality was the legacy of Miljenko ‘Mike’ Grgich, and I may truly say today that we have witnessed Croatia transform from a landmine infested country into a thriving tourist destination. 

Mike’s daughter, Violet, CEO, Grgich Hills Estate, continues to carry this torch lit by her Father.Last month, she hosted ‘The Festival of the Bells’ in at the Culinary Institute of America/COPIA in Napa Valley to benefit war-torn farmers living in Ukraine—a country where 30% of the land is now contaminated by landmines—a land once known as the ‘Breadbasket of Europe.’

Despite the devastating loss of her Father this month, Violet will continue Mike’s legacy by hosting Ukrainian vintners from the Mikolaiv region, a prominent wine growing region.   The humanitarian commitment by The Grgich Family lives on for future generations to thrive, as we seek to plant the Roots of Peace on Earth…

The grapevine represents the seeds we have in common, rather than those which separate us. And, whether a fine bottle of wine, fresh grapes or raisins, we celebrate the life of a man who resected the fruit of the vine and the work of human hands.

Millions of farmers have benefited from the faith that Miljenko Grgich placed in my dream—from the heart of Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Guatemala, Israel, Iraq, West Bank and Vietnam, a bounty of fresh fruit was harvested on former war-torn lands. My profound gratitude and appreciation to this humble man, who nurtured the tiniest mustard seed to grow forth into the Kingdom of Heaven.

“I realized that you don’t make wine with only your head and senses.  You make wine with your heart.”—Miljenko ‘Mike’ Grgich