Violet Grgich 63 MINUTES
A wine podcast series from Doug Shafer about the people behind the food and wine you love.
Third-generation vintner Violet Grgich tells an incredible family wine story that spans a century that includes a world war, daring escapes, and a years-long journey to Napa Valley. Her grandfather was a winemaker in their small town in Croatia, her father came to Napa and help put the region on the world stage and started a winery, Grgich-Hills Estate, where today Violet is president. Enjoy!
For more visit: Grgich.com
Explore the Grgich-Hills Estate wines featured in this podcast.
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
Doug Shafer:
Hey,
everybody, Doug Shafer. Welcome back to The Taste. Today's guest's from a
well-known, longtime, top quality Napa winery. I'd like to welcome a fellow
vintner, who's followed a very similar path as mine, working side by side with
her father to produce great wines, Violet Grgich of Grgich Hills. Welcome.
Violet
Grgich:
Thank
you so much, Doug. It's a pleasure to be here.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
I appreciate you taking the time. We're still finishing up harvest. So, um,
thanks so much and really been looking forward to this to talking to you, a lot
to cover. Grgich Hills has been around for 45 years if my, did my math, right.
And so a lot of stories both you, your dad, and a lot of family history, mostly
around wine, so I think we should start way, way back and with your dad and his
family.
Violet
Grgich:
For
those who, who may not know, Mike Grgich, Violet's dad, was one of the founders
of Grgich Hills winery, ah, but a long time before that, he was born in the
'20s in Croatia and his father was a winemaker. Is that right? Did I get that
right, Violet?
Violet
Grgich:
You
sure did.
Doug Shafer:
So,
talk to me, how far back does winemaking go with you guys?
Violet
Grgich:
Winemaking
is sort of part of Croatian peasant blood. My father grew up in a very small,
very poor village in Dalmatia, which is the coastal region of Croatia, and
especially well-known for its wines, but pretty much everybody there made
everything that they produced.
Violet
Grgich:
One
of the most important things was wine. You drink wine every day, um, not just
because you liked it, but because it, there was actually a practical reason,
the water was often known to make you sick. So, if you mix it up with wine, you
not only would not get sick, but it'd be a lot easier working in the fields.
So, wine was something that was, you know, they didn't have a winery, you know,
the kids, you know, all stomped grapes. My dad talks about how he went from
stomping grapes and, and actually enjoying it, but he also went, I guess, from
going from breast milk to wine. So, that's how he started.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
And
I guess he thought that this was very exciting and very passionate. His dad was
known as the best winemaker in the village.
Doug Shafer:
I
think that's really cool. Everybody's making wine. Now...
Violet
Grgich:
Absolutely.
Doug Shafer:
So,
he was making, so, he was part of making wine from as far as he can remember,
that's what you're telling me.
Violet
Grgich:
Literally,
and I think before he can remember. So, you know, the parents would throw,
especially the young kids and the grape vats and they were self-contained and
they didn't need to worry about running after while they were off harvesting.
So, you know, childcare and work at the same time.
Doug Shafer:
I
love it. I love it. I love that whole idea about you gotta drink wine every day
at every meal just to, you know, for your health reasons. So, I'm gonna try
that. I'm going to run that up the flag at home and see if it works.
Violet
Grgich:
He’s
99. So, he definitely, it definitely works, so …
Doug Shafer:
I
won't, yeah, I won't get much work done, but, you know, if you cut it 50/50
with water, that's not bad. That works. That makes sense.
Violet
Grgich:
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Okay. All right. I'll try that one. So, as he grew up, he had a tough go, he
and his family. They were living a challenging place to live with World War Two
in the communist takeover. Can you tell me some of the things he and his family
went through?
Violet
Grgich:
He
actually went through quite a bit. Originally, starting with his father and
going to World War One. The average number of kids in the village was 16 and
his father was away for five years. And therefore, they only had 11 children,
but his mom single handedly, you know, did all the work and you know for the
family and the village and then once the Italians came over and took over
Dalmatia, he had a number of experiences where he was absolutely certain he was
going to get killed. He was, you know, held at gunpoint. He was arrested. He
was interrogated. He was mistaken for a communist guerrilla by the same name of
Milenko Grgich, but he ended up surviving.
Violet
Grgich:
Finally,
I think when the Germans came, they burned his village down and to this day,
you can still see the ruins of the house he was born in. It's mostly, mostly
stone but one of these days, if I have a chance, I'd love to rebuild that and
bring it back into use again.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Wow. What a, what a, what a childhood. How tough.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
And
then, but, but he, he survived, as you said, he moved on and he ended up at the
studying wine into university. Is that correct?
Violet
Grgich:
That's
correct. He actually started studying business and because he heard they needed
bookkeepers. And after he worked for a year for the town of Metkovic, which was
close to where the town he grew up, he realized that all he had for his
troubles was a cabinet full of papers and decided he didn't want to end his
life with 70 cabinets full of papers and went back to wine because he actually
had a passion for wine. He had a ha -- And it's, you know, wine is something
that brings you close to nature between grape growing and winemaking. And so he
ended up studying Viticulture and Enology at the University of Zagreb, which is
the capital of Croatia.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
And then, okay, so Croatia-California, how does that happen?
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
Doug Shafer:
I
mean, come on. I mean, I mean, there's Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France,
and that's really create wine regions close by. I mean, what do you doing?
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
Especially
back then, because this was when he got out of school, what time period are we
talking about?
Violet
Grgich:
So,
we're talking about the late '40s, early '50s.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
So, California.
Violet
Grgich:
And-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah,
it wasn't on the map. So, how did...
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
...
how do you, how do you get to California and why California? I'm just
fascinated by that one.
Violet
Grgich:
Well,
it actually was Napa Valley specifically. And that's a pretty amazing story.
His favorite professor actually ended up taking a year of sabbatical to UC
Berkeley, of all places. And now, of course, the communists are completely in
control at this point and they are always and that said horrible things about
the United States and what it was like and how terrible it was. And so when his
professor finally came back, he wanted to know, well, what exactly is the
United States like.
Violet
Grgich:
And
his professor was very reluctant to speak to him because, again, communist
spies. They could get in pretty big trouble. Turned out, he actually did get
into big trouble, but he told my dad that America was a place where you could
actually achieve your dreams and he told him that Napa Valley was paradise.
He'd been there. He was impressed. He recognized that the terrain, the
geography, the climate, and that literally inspired my dad.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
when his professor finally got into trouble and was retired early, and he, my
dad also heard the secret police were after him, he ended up escaping to
Germany. He had, actually, the very first year that they issued United Nations
visas for students to go and study and then come back after the summer.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
And
he already had this visa, but he ended up leaving earlier than he was expected
to. He didn't quite finish his master's degree and he fled. And he'd been
collecting American dollars, because he knew he wanted to go to Napa Valley,
but he actually had somebody sew those into the soul of a shoe. So he escaped.
He was actually in Germany for over four years. He worked with a family called
the Franks. They had a large farm. They actually developed seeds.
Violet
Grgich:
So
he worked on the farm, always trying to figure out how was he going to get to
Napa Valley. And it turns out that, well, it's, it's, it's a long story, and
actually a lot of details in his book, which is called A Glass Full of
Miracles, but he ended up accepting a visa to Canada. Couldn't get the American
one, but he figured Canada was next door and apparently they had a need of
lumberjacks in the Yukon.
Violet
Grgich:
So
he actually, he actually got a visa to become a lumberjack. And for those of
you guys who...
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
...
know my dad...
Doug Shafer:
Yeah,
no.
Violet
Grgich:
...
he was pretty short.
Doug Shafer:
He,
he's-
Violet
Grgich:
You
can't really imagine him being a lumberjack. It's pretty funny. (laughs)
Doug Shafer:
No.
I, no, that's of that, I can't get, I can't get there, but no, Violet, this is
crazy. I, I, got to roll, roll the tape back, that he heard the secret police
were after him. What were they after him for?
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
What
were they, what was going on?
Violet
Grgich:
Because
his professor had spoken to him.
Doug Shafer:
Ah.
I see.
Violet
Grgich:
Violet Grgich:
Yeah,
yeah, yeah.
Doug Shafer:
So-
Violet
Grgich:
And
it's, it was, you know, growing up, my dad was concerned about communist spies
in America. He was concerned about ensuring that he would remain free. And in
fact, he never dared to go back to Croatia because he'd heard what had happened
to some people that he knew, some Croatians he knew through the communist
government and he didn't go back until Croatia had actually declared
independence from the state of Yugoslavia.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
And
that was in 1991.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
And so he-
Violet
Grgich:
Yeah.
And he hadn't-
Doug Shafer:
So
he fled. I'm interrupting. I apologize, but geez...
Violet
Grgich:
It's
okay.
Doug Shafer:
I
mean, I mean, you know, he left his parents, his mom, his brothers and sisters.
He just, he took off. I mean...
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
...
that's, that's tough. That's really tough.
Violet
Grgich:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
And
not knowing if you'd ever see them again.
Doug Shafer:
And
then Germany for four years, working on a farm...
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
...
but he still had Napa Valley. And, you know, I didn't know all this.
Violet
Grgich:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
This
is fascinating. Okay, so he's in Canada, and then somehow...
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
...
he gets, somehow he gets across the border.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
How
do you do that?
Violet
Grgich:
So, he placed an ad in the Wine Institute, and ah, he
said, he was, he would work for $100 a month. I know it's hard to imagine, but
so he ended up being hired by Lee Stewart at Souverain Cellars. I don't know if
any of your listeners know of Lee Stewart. For my dad's book, it was almost
impossible to find a photograph because he was such a humble man, but Warren
Winiarski of Stag's Leap also worked with Lee Stewart as part of his education,
learning how to make wine. So...
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
...
that's how he made it to Napa Valley. And what was amazing was that his very
first morning, he shows up at Souverain Cellars and he's in shock because he
sees a vineyard and it looks exactly like his native grape Plavac mali that
grows in Croatia.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Violet
Grgich:
So
he thought, "What is this? I've arrived in Napa. I don't know anybody yet
and yet I have a friend in these vines." Later on, it was found out
through his efforts that Zinfandel actually originated in Croatia, and was the
parents of that Plavac mali grape.
Doug Shafer:
That's
right. And then, do you guys still make Zinfandel, Grgich?
Violet
Grgich:
We,
we absolutely do.
Doug Shafer:
There
you go.
Violet
Grgich:
It's
not, it's not the kind of Zinfandel that most people think of California
Zinfandel is. Ours is lighter. It's got amazing balance and in fact, one time
it won a pinot noir competition.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
There you go, I love that.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
not your, not your typical Zinfandel.
Doug Shafer:
I
love it. So, he shows up in California, I think it's around late '50s, right?
'58, something like that? Is that about the right time?
Violet
Grgich:
'58.
It's-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
So,
I mean, he gets in, um, he, boy, and, and, how is, did he speak English?
Violet
Grgich:
He
did.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Violet
Grgich:
He
did. He actually had a great education. He spoke English, of course, with an
accent. And that remains to this day. So, some, sometimes he puts on a little
heavier accent just for fun, you know, but ah-
Doug Shafer:
That's,
yeah, that's when he has the twinkle in his eye. I've seen that.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
I've
seen that play.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
But
no, no career as a lumberjack. You skipped over that, which was good. That
makes sense.
Violet
Grgich:
No.
No. Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
But
you mentioned this, so he, I didn't realize he had a book out. Um, can you tell
me the title again, so people can look for it? That's-
Violet
Grgich:
Absolutely.
It's called A Glass Full of Miracles.
Doug Shafer:
Okay,
good.
Violet
Grgich:
And
it's both here at the winery and also on Amazon.
Doug Shafer:
All
right. Good.
Violet
Grgich:
But,
yeah, I'm, I'm, going to send you a book or maybe drop it off in person because
I haven't seen you in ages.
Doug Shafer:
You
know, I, I'd-
Violet
Grgich:
And
I think you'll enjoy it.
Doug Shafer:
I'd
love to read it. Thank you. I appreciate that.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
So,
he's at Souverain. And then, now, that was Souverain here in Napa, because
there I know there was one in Sonoma, I think, but this, it was...
Violet
Grgich:
Violet Grgich:
Correct.
Violet
Grgich:
Doug Shafer:
...
it's Souverain, that's where Rutherford Hill is now, correct? Is that right?
Violet
Grgich:
It's
actually Burgess.
Doug Shafer:
Okay,
okay.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
yeah.
Doug Shafer:
It's
Burgess.
Violet
Grgich:
Tom
Burgess ended up buying the winery, changing the name to Burgess. And my
understanding is how Lee got the name was, I guess he picked it out. He had ah,
a few names and ah he gave it to his daughter to, to take to her class and have
them all pick out of a hat. And so that's the one that they picked, which
coincidentally is how I got my name. So, I guess my dad thought that was a
rather charming American thing to do.
Doug Shafer:
That's
a good one. So he's, he's here early on. He's here way before, you know the
'70s and all that. So who, who were some of the folks that he worked with in
making wine? And, and...
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
...
um, I know, because I know he worked with a bunch of folks. Can you help us out
with that one?
Violet
Grgich:
Absolutely.
So, first was Lee Stewart. He essentially worked harvest and then after harvest
wasn't needed, so, he then went to work for Christian Brothers. And that was a
family connection. He actually ended up coming to America and actually getting
a job in Canada. When the lumberjack thing didn't work out, um, his nephew, who
was a priest in Washington, connected him with ah, Vancouver University, and he
became a dishwasher. So that's how he got out of being a lumberjack, but...
Doug Shafer:
(laughing).
Violet
Grgich:
...
he also made a connection with him with Christian brothers. And so we worked
with Brother Timothy for a year.
Violet
Grgich:
I
think most people have heard about Brother Timothy. And after that, he had the
opportunity to work with Andre Tchelistcheff. And he'd actually heard of Andre.
He had heard that he was the only vintner who actually had studied at the
Pasteur Institute in France, that ah, the Marquis de Pins had brought him over
to help improve the quality of Beaulieu Vineyard's wines and he definitely was
one who literally brought both science and art to winemaking.
Violet
Grgich:
Especially
because, you know, after Prohibition, things never really came back to the way
they used to be prior and Andre was a huge force in ensuring that that
happened. Um, he was known as the Dean of California winemakers. He had so many
students, it's impossible to count them and he was teaching even, you know,
until his death but that's from what I have heard. So he was very inspirational
for my father, and he really wanted to meet him.
Violet
Grgich:
And
after a few months, when Andre finally granted him an audience, um, he was
shocked because he spoke to him in Croatian. My dad was, "How, how was
that you speak Croatian?"
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
He
said, "Well, you know, after our family fled, they were on the wrong side
of the war in Russia." And I guess he worked as a traveling musician and
singer and dancer in circuses throughout Croatia, throughout Yugoslavia. So,
the language-
Doug Shafer:
Wait,
wait, wait, Andre Tchelistcheff did?
Violet
Grgich:
Yes.
Yes. So ah that-
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
That's a new one. I haven't heard that one.
Violet
Grgich:
That's
a new one.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
yeah. So he, my dad, worked for him for nine years. And he really, really loved
it. He learned so much from him. He always says every single person that he
worked for and worked with, he learned from. Everybody's, you know, something a
little bit different. And with Andre, Andre was so passionate about wine, in
terms of just quality, but also in terms of the science, in terms of the
research as well. So, he and Andre, while he was there, actually developed the
process of utilizing Millipore filtration for fil-, filtering devices...
Violet
Grgich:
...
that they'd heard about it. Nobody had been able to do it successfully. They
were the first ones who did it successfully. Ah, they also worked on developing
yeast. So, he and Andre, I think, worked on, I, I think, it was the, the, what
do you call it, the, the French, the French white...
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
...
that's became a standard that was used in winemaking.
Doug Shafer:
For
a long time, yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
We
developed that. Exactly, also conducted the first industrially induced
malolactic fermentation, which was also pretty much. So, it was, there was
always innovation there, but also a lot of passion and that's something that my
dad had naturally, I think, as a Croatian person, but also being a scientist,
when you're able to combine those things, you created some greater, you know,
greater than the sum of its parts.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
So.
Doug Shafer:
I
can picture those two working together. I can...
Violet
Grgich:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
I
can see it and that was...
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
...
that was before anything really hit and that, you know, that filtration thing
is big because, you know, the, it didn't really happen, I don't think in this
state until people figured out the filtering thing, because you had wines that
would go, you know, go weird and go off in the bottle, and it wouldn't be that
good.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
So
getting, getting clean, sound wines was a big step to, you know, getting better
and better quality just so people could know...
Violet
Grgich:
Right.
Doug Shafer:
...
that know that it was going to be solid. I mean, um.
Violet
Grgich:
Right,
and, and actually talking about clean, that was another thing that he learned
from Lee Stewart. Lee Stewart was extraordinarily precise. He had learned from
Andre Tchelistcheff. He'd written everything down in a notebook, and he
religiously followed every single little thing. He also was completely um, um,
phobic about microbes, and everything was always cleaned, was always
sterilized. And my dad realized, especially coming to BV, that one of the
reasons that wines were inconsistent in terms of quality was lack of that
sterility...
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
...
not just sterility, but also you want to top your tanks up, you want to top
your barrels up. You don't want to leave that air that can expose, um, again,
additional microbial growth that can spoil the wines.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
it was, there was a lot of stuff that he learned and it was very exciting. And
I realize he didn't end with, with Andre Tchelistcheff, but it's funny because
he said, "Well, you know, Andre had a son and his son was, I'm sure, gonna
take over, so I needed to go somewhere else." So where does he go, but Robert
Mondavi who has two sons and a daughter...
Doug Shafer:
(laughing).
Violet
Grgich:
...
um, but um, Robert really, really wanted my dad to come work for him. He was
impressed with what he had done at, at Beaulieu Vineyards. He knew that, ah,
Andre was especially known for his red wines. His private reserved, De Latour
Cabernet, Georges de Latour Cabernet, Robert had more experience with white
wines. And so, when my dad came to Robert Mondavi, Robert Mondavi, he brought
that knowledge with him. And in fact, he was the one that made the wine that
put Robert Mondavi on the map, and that was the 1969 Cabernet.
Doug Shafer:
Got
it.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
yeah, that was a...
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
That was a lot.
Violet
Grgich:
...
a lot of people's have forgotten that, you know.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
My,
my dad's not just a, you know, one song wonder, as they call it, or one hit
wonder. So he started with the Cabernet there. He also made Robert Mondavi's
very first Fume Blanc.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Violet
Grgich:
Robert,
most people don't know, most people think of Robert Mondavi as a winemaker and as
a force of nature and it's absolutely true that he's a force of nature, but he
really was a marketer.
Violet
Grgich:
And
so, not only, you know, he, he was more instrumental in making Napa Valley
famous probably even than the Paris tasting, even though that, that, that
literally put it on the map, but just that alone wouldn't have done it without
Robert's belief that Napa could someday produce wines that could be as good as
the French.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
And
so, yeah.
Doug Shafer:
That
was...
Violet
Grgich:
So
that-
Violet
Grgich:
Doug Shafer:
That
was the speech, you know. He gave it forever and it just...
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
...
you know, it worked and would, was just he believed it and, and he shared as
you know, you know, they've, Mondavi always shared their ideas with everybody.
You know, I'm, if he helped me out, I remember going over there and talking to
a guy one time.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
So
big leader, but don't wanna get too far ahead. I want to back up a sec. So tell
me about your mom. What's her story?
Violet
Grgich:
Well,
my mom actually, they met in Croatia and it's a very interesting story. My
mom's younger sister, and my dad's niece happened to be best friends.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Violet
Grgich:
And
when his niece was going to school in ah, in Split, which is where they lived
at the time, and also at that time, the war was going on. And so they had, she
lived with the family. And apparently, at one point, as a young teenager, she
went to visit her friend in her home, hometown, which is the little village
where my dad was born and apparently, she was traveling first by boat, and then
by train, and there happened to be a gentleman who was sitting next to her and
asked her, "So, where are you going?" and "Oh," you know.
Violet
Grgich:
So
he was asking a lot of questions and she was a little scared, but it turns out
that once they got there, her, he, he said, so, so, you know, "Where are
you going?" And she says, "Well, I'm, I send it. You know, I'm going
to see my friend." "Oh, where is she?" "Oh, she's in
Desna." "Oh, and how do you know she's going to be there?"
"Well, I sent a telegram." She didn't get. "When did you send
it?"
Violet
Grgich:
So,
interestingly enough, because, you know, he knew that the telegram wouldn't get
there for four days and turn, turns out that when she's there, turns out that
this gentleman happens to be my dad.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
And
so he ended up introducing her to and bringing her over to his, her, his niece.
And so that's, that's sort of how the families met. And, in fact, her friend,
whose name is Yelets Jeramaz, her son is my cousin, Ivo Jeramaz, who is our
vice president and winemaker and responsible for our vineyards.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
And Ivo has been there...
Violet
Grgich:
So-
Doug Shafer:
...
for a long time. Totally. Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
For
a long time, since 1986.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
Yes.
Yup. Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
So
it's a family connection and he came, of course, first, and then in 1962, she
came about a month before they were married. And then, I came along in 1965 and
had a really wonderful upbringing, you know. I spent so much time with both of
my parents. My dad used to take me with him everywhere in the vineyards and the
winery. Um, I remember when he was at Mondavi, he used to have his office and
the lab up in the tower. And it was so much fun, because there were these
rickety wooden stairs that lead up, you know, circular stair up to the tower
and I always felt like Rapunzel...
Doug Shafer:
(laughing).
Violet
Grgich:
...
and, you know, it was out of a fairy tale because it was so, so fun. And, yeah,
I remember Tim Mondavi making me paper airplanes, and it was, it was really fun
and I especially enjoyed Chateau Montelena growing up because they had a
beautiful lake ... with these fabulous islands and these amazing pagodas. The
wreck of a junk on the edge and this castle that, you know, in the, in the
mountain and it was just, it was a kid's paradise.
Doug Shafer:
Well,
and young adults, we used to, we used to have these toga parties after harvest.
So that was a whole different experience, but it was up there on the lake.
Violet
Grgich:
Oh,
wow.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
I
never, I never got to go to those.
Doug Shafer:
Well,
you were too young, my friend. Come on. You know.
Violet
Grgich:
I
guess, I guess. Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
It was, yeah. And, and then we got too old to do it, but they were, they were
pretty wild. Anyway, so, so your dad, so you're growing up, you're just, you're
living it. He's a, he's at Mondavi. So he was at BV for you, I think you said
nine years or not that long?
Violet
Grgich:
Nine
years.
Doug Shafer:
Nine
years.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
And
then went to Mondavi and put them on the map with the Fume Blanc and that nine,
69 cap. So how long was he at Mondavi? I think, four or five years?
Violet
Grgich:
My
gosh. Yeah, a little, a little more than that. I have to...
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
...
divide my easy math here, but his first vintage at Chateau Montelena was a '72.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
So-
Violet
Grgich:
So,
yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
How do you, how'd that switch happen from Mondavi, which was, you know, the
place at that time to Montelena, which is just starting, I think, at that point
in time.
Violet
Grgich:
Right,
right. And it actually hadn't started yet.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Violet
Grgich:
So
my dad had, they did some custom crushing. And at this point, Robert Mondavi
had started out pretty small...
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
...
but they've been growing really, really quickly. And, um, I remember my dad
hiring Zelma Long as, um, as his assistant, and at some point, she would say,
"How come, why is it here that every time I drive by your, you know, I see
your car parked at the winery, you're there, you're always there. You're
working too much. You needed," you know.
Doug Shafer:
(laughing).
Violet
Grgich:
So,
I guess, I guess at some point Lee Paschich, she was one of the owners of, of
Chateau Montelena also owned a vineyard and he would bring his Chardonnay to
Mondavi to have it custom crushed. So, he knew that my dad made that '69
Cabernet and he, as well as the other partners who were Ernie Hahn, and Jim
Barrett, they were mostly fond of red bo, red Bordeaux, and that's, they wanted
to make Cabernet.
Violet
Grgich:
And
because my dad had made that '69 Cabernet for Mondavi, they wanted to snag him.
So he, ah, he interviewed with them and thought it might be interesting and
then he went back to Robert Mondavi and said, "Well, Robert, what do you
think? You know, these guys are offering me an opportunity to become a limited
partner. You know, I really enjoyed here, but this is a great opportunity. How
do you feel about it?" And he said, "Mike, you need to do what your,
where your heart leads you. They sound like a good group of guys. If it works
out, fabulous. If not, please come back because you'll always have a home
here."
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
And,
ah, so yeah, very...
Doug Shafer:
That's...
I've never heard that.
Violet
Grgich:
...
very -
Doug Shafer:
That's
really cool. That's so nice.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
That's
good.
Violet
Grgich:
Violet Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. He was well known for his, his generosity...
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
...
and his, you know, working with other, with other vintners and sharing
everything, you know. I mean, what other person would, you know, give a group
of vintners and say, "Here's my wine. Tell me, what do you think I could
improve and how could I do that?" You know, vintners don't usually do
that. At least, not for a long time.
Doug Shafer:
No.
No.
Violet
Grgich:
I
feel, I feel, things have definitely changed. So-
Doug Shafer:
Yeah,
I mean, well, '73, that's when we, we moved out here from Chicago.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
I
think there were only 20 wineries in the Valley...
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
...
at that time. So it was pretty small, small community.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
So,
okay, so he makes the move to Montelena, which is exciting. He makes this '73
Chardonnay, which is kind of famous, and there's a story behind it. And so for
those of you who haven't heard about the Paris tasting, Violet, if you don't
mind, can you fill us in?
Violet
Grgich:
So,
the Paris tasting or otherwise known as the Judgment of Paris happened in 1976
and it was organized by an Englishman who owned a wine shop and wine school,
and his, his partner. So that was Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher and
they were mostly selling to expatriates. I mean, what Frenchman in their right
mind would actually buy French wine from an Englishman. I mean, crazy, nuts.
Violet
Grgich:
So
he wanted to drum up a little bit of publicity. And he and Patricia had been
going to California and had been really impressed with some of the wines that
they were trying. So they thought it would be really fun, since it also
happened to be the American Bicentennial, to introduce the French to what was
going on in California, and also to, you know, drum up some publicity for their
wine shop and wine school.
Violet
Grgich:
So
they decided to make it more interesting and really stack the, stack the deck
by introducing literally the best French white burgundies and red Bordeaux. So
he literally rigged the tasting so that the French would win, and then send out
invitations to all the press and the press sort of looked at this and went,
"Well, this isn't an event. The French are going to win.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
Why
should we bother and waste our time?" And so, the one, ah, press person
who did attend happen to be a rookie journalist from Time magazine, and being a
rookie, he's like, "Well, it doesn't make sense, but you know, if I don't
have anything better to do, I'll show up." And he had nothing better to do
and turns out he was the only journalist at the tasting...
Doug Shafer:
(laughing).
Violet
Grgich:
...
and because he was the only one, he got the list of the wines.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
wow.
Violet
Grgich:
And
at first, he also thought, "Yeah, this is going to be boring for us. The
French are gonna win." So he not only Steven, Patricia not only stacked
with the best French wines, but they also got the most talented French
vintners, chefs, professionals, professionals, and they did a blind tasting so
they didn't know what they were drinking. And for a while, you know, what's his
name, George Taber.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
You
know, just sort of stood by and listened. And then all of a sudden, he started
hearing something interesting. "Ah, this wine has no nose. It must be
Californian."
Doug Shafer:
(laughing).
Violet
Grgich:
And
he looked down and he's like, "Oh my gosh, that's one of the top French
wines."
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
'coz he had the, he had the list. Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
He
had the list.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
And
then, "Ah, finally, back to, back to France." And like, "Uh-oh,
that's Napa."
Doug Shafer:
Right.
(laughing).
Violet
Grgich:
So
like, "This is getting interesting." So, it turns out that first they
tasted the whites and then the reds. My dad's '73 Montelena came in as the top
scoring wine in the entire competition. And Warren Winiarski's Stag's Leap
Cabernet won the red portion. And George wrote an article, a small article in Time Magazine, which I guess they ended up calling it the shot that was heard
around the world...
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
...
and horrified, French were horrified. Several of the tasters ended up
forcefully trying to get their ballots back. Steven was like, literally,
physically kicked out of places in France because the French just could not
believe that he had done something to them. You know, it was awful.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
And
whereas, you know, Americans were not really known for being wine drinkers. You
know, as my dad says, "Well, they drink milk. How can you, how can you
drink milk?"
Doug Shafer:
(laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
Milk's
a food, you know. And so, uh, it, it literally created a wave that sort of kept
getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And on the East Coast, people were more
familiar with wines and enjoying wine every day. I drank wine every day. I grew
up on it. That's, that's what I drank, along with my parents. For some reason,
kids at school, were wondering why it was, you know, “Gosh, your mom
cooks?" Like, well, how do you eat otherwise? Um, I guess they grew up on
TV dinners.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
it was a very different, you know, scene on the West Coast. And, you know, it
was only special occasions that people drank wine. And that definitely started
to change. People became more interested in it, not just as a special beverage,
but as something that, you know, eventually, and it took a while, you might be
able to enjoy every day as something that's really healthy and enjoyable. And
that hey, by the way. It can also be an incredible work of art.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
So.
Doug Shafer:
No,
it's just, you know, thanks for telling us that story. Because it did really...
you know, if the timing was perfect, because grapes for getting replanted after
Prohibition, and new wineries are on the scene and new technology led by
Mondavi and others, and Andre and your dad. And just the quality was improving.
And we got some great, you know, PR from that. And so, people start paying
attention.
Violet
Grgich:
Um,
so, I mean, that's a feather in his cap, and that bottle of 73 'chard. Is it
true that... I think it's on display. There's a bottle of it, uh, on display at
the Smithsonian Museum.
Violet
Grgich:
It
is. There is. It was really -
Doug Shafer:
That's,
that's pretty cool. I mean...
Violet
Grgich:
It
is.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
Well,
it's not just the bottle that's there. They also have his suitcase that he-
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Violet
Grgich:
...
took to America. His suitcase was full of, actually, textbooks as well as his
ebulliometer. He wanted to make sure that when he finally got a job as a
winemaker that he kept up with the study. So, you know, while he was working at
all these other different jobs in, in Vancouver, um, other guys would take
breaks and play bocce ball. And he would be standing by the side and reading
his textbooks, just to make sure that he retained all of that knowledge, that
his education didn't go to waste.
Violet
Grgich:
So
the suitcase is there. It's great. I've got... it's, it's wonderful. I have to
say having, you know, gone there for the opening of that display, it's an, it's
an, it's part of the display as part that includes Julia Child's kitchen. And
not only is the bottle there in a suitcase, but his famous beret is there also.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
Oh,
it's, it's, it's very amazing. And my dad, still to this day, is, is in sort of
shock and disbelief that, you know... he's like, "I'm the only other
Croatian there, other than Nikola Tesla."
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
Uh,
another thing happened a few... a number of years later, they, um, wrote a book
out of all the millions of artifacts that are owned. The Smithsonian put
together a book called 101 Objects That Made American history. And that bottle
of wine is included in that book.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah,
yeah, it's, it's...
Violet
Grgich:
So,
very, very excited to have that, yeah.
Doug Shafer:
It,
it's he, he got a lot of mileage out of that baby. It's well-deserved. That's
cool.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
Um,
so that was '73. And then, and then '77, um, big change. He, uh, branches out
from Montelena. And he gets into his... gets his own winery, um...
Violet
Grgich:
Right.
Doug Shafer:
And
you were a part of that. You were there. But tell me that story. How did his
whole... the whole Grgich Hills Winery come to be?
Violet
Grgich:
He
had... after the Paris tasting, he had people literally standing in line
outside of his door-
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
...
saying, "I, I need you. I want you to come be my winemaker."
Doug Shafer:
(laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
And,
uh, his goal, you know, he was a limited partner at Chateau Montelena with only
about 5%. By the time that he left, his contract had expired. Um, and he felt
it was about time to start something on his own. And of all the people that,
uh, came and, uh, you know, begged him to come on, he thought that Austin Hills
from the Hills Brothers Coffee Family was absolutely the best. He had a
background in business. They have their own family winery, the Hills Brothers
Coffee, uh, Company.
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
And,
uh, he also had vineyards. And he was having somebody else make wine for him
already. So, it seemed, uh, a match made in heaven. And so, Austin, as well as
his sister, Mary Lee Strobel, uh, we became partners and founded... actually,
broke the grounds on July 4th of 1977.
Violet
Grgich:
And
that, that was very symbolic for my father because he truly felt that he had
completely achieved. There was nothing greater he could achieve in America than
starting his own company and to have it be on Independence Day when having, you
know, grown up under the thumb of communism and war, to be able to find this
freedom in America was just so incredibly inspirational for him. Uh, I guess he
was telling that to a friend, and his friend said, "Well, Mike, you know,
don't, don't be so hasty." And like, "Well, why not?" He's
"Well, you know, you've, you've got the, the county of Napa. You've got
the state of California. You've got the federal government. Don't worry, they
are all there in partnership with you."
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
uh, he still felt it was... he still felt it was well worth it. And, actually,
to this day, uh, the thing that he says he's the most proud of is to provide
employment for almost 50 people.
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
And
with everything that he's achieved, the fact that that's what, you know, he is
most proud of is, is very dear to my heart.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
that's, that's so sweet. That's so sweet and so true, you know, um.
Violet
Grgich:
It
is.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah,
I had that opportunity here with folks who have been here a long, long time.
And, you know, I've seen their kids grow up.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
And,
heck, the local sheriff, um, Oscar Ortiz, you know, was the son of our first
vineyard foreman, you know. He was, he was eight years old when we moved out
here. My dad used to help him with his homework.
Violet
Grgich:
Wow.
Doug Shafer:
So,
it's great. It's pretty cool to see that. It's, it's nice. So good. Well, I'm
with your... I'm with your dad on that one all day long. And, hey. And prepping
for this podcast, I came across something I never knew about. And this is this
great Chicago showdown of 1980. You obviously know about this.
Violet
Grgich:
Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
But,
yeah, tell me. It was like, I'd never heard of this thing. That is...
Violet
Grgich:
Oh,
my gosh. It was, um...
Doug Shafer:
Well,
what happened?
Violet
Grgich:
So,
it was a tasting compiled by... and I'm trying to remember the organization,
but they had numerous tasters. They tasted over a period of weeks. And they
were, they were all wine professionals. They tasted in many categories, of
course, varietals. Uh, it was all, it was all... Sorry, it was all Chardonnay.
Uh, they tasted in price categories. They tasted by region. They had, you know,
all the semi-finals. And essentially, out of 221 of the best Chardonnays in the
world, my dad's came number one.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
It
was our '77 Chardonnay. So, on the heels of that '76 Paris tasting to then have
the '77 win such an award, it was pretty amazing. And, uh, after that, he
pretty much became known as the king of Chardonnay.
Violet
Grgich:
Doug Shafer:
Well,
he, yeah, he's always the king of Chardonnay. He was you know... he's, you
know, he's not a lumberjack. He's a rockstar, trust me.
Violet
Grgich:
That's
true. That's true.
Doug Shafer:
You
know what I mean. Because I was, um... That was right while I was '83. Well, I
was late '70s into the '80s. But yeah, Mike Grgich was the guy, Grgich Hill
Chardonnay, that was the go-to.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
So,
for all of us. Um, so thanks for all that about your dad is fascinating. But
let's talk about the you. So, you were growing up at the winery. Um, you were
doing every- what, what was that like? Were you doing everything? Did he ever
have you working in the field, hauling rocks out, would have... what was that
like?
Violet
Grgich:
Well,
it wa- it was pretty much everything. I mean, I did literally grow up in the
vineyard and in the winery. So, it wasn't just a Grgich Hills. He would take,
when he went to work on the weekends, because I was out of school, I would tag
along, uh, to pretty much to, uh, to Mondavi. I don't remember BV. But I do
remember Mondavi. I remember Chateau Montelena, especially. And I was really
disappointed when we had-
Doug Shafer:
(laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
...
you know, this, this flat ground. It's by the road. There's no lake. There's no
cave.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
There's
no gazebos. Uh, like, what is this? This is not as fun as the other. But, uh, I
did end up starting to work there, um, probably on the bottling line. And I did
that for many years. Then I started working. I, I worked, um, harvests. I
worked in the laboratory. And I was very much happy there because I didn't have
to talk to people. I was not only not social, but I was painfully, painfully,
painfully shy. And, uh, as a musician, that was not a very good thing because I
had horrible performance anxiety.
Doug Shafer:
Hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
the lab was absolutely great. I could commune with... I can do my titrations
and do my SO2s and alcohols. And it was wonderful. And then, then my dad
started dragging me out and bringing me to various events now. You know, as a
kid, I'd grown up, literally, you know, from the time I was very young, going
to vintner dinners, going to wine tastings. You know, my mom and dad would
always be there. My mom would always be, you know, absolutely vivacious and
stylish and-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
...
just so incredibly generous. And my dad, when he would open his mouth and
speak, everyone's jaws dropped open because he was such an amazing public
speaker. And so, I grew up sort of seeing all this from afar, never thinking I
would ever be in a position that I had to do it myself. And so, when my dad
started trying to get me to do that stuff, it was, it was terrible. It was ...
uh, I remember the first time he made me speak in public. And it was ... I
remember very well, I was driving him to the Wente Brother's restaurant. And
there were two nights of vintner dinners because everything was sold out. So,
the second night, I drove him there. And as I'm getting out of the car, he
says, "Oh, by the way, tonight, you're going to talk about the Fumé
Blanc."
Violet
Grgich:
Doug Shafer:
(laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
And
immediately, I thought my stomach hit the floor. I'm happy it hit the floor and
didn't hit the ceiling. Um, there were 100 people there. They had a podium with
a microphone. And, you know, I couldn't eat a thing. I was shaking, a terrible
trembling. I got to the podium, and I opened my mouth. And nothing came out.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
For
the first time in my life, there was literally not a single word in my brain. I
searched. I couldn't... nothing finally came out, until I think I said,
"Fumé Blanc … nice … questions?"
Doug Shafer:
(laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
And
so, it was, it was... I, I cannot tell you how horrible I felt. And somebody
decided to ask me a very, um, very complex question. And I'm like, "Oh, I
can answer that," you know. So, I... and, and it was so easy once they
asked me the questions.
Violet
Grgich:
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
But
my dad kept making me do this and making me do this. And I, I cannot remember
how many years. If I knew that I had an event six months out, I'd already start
getting terrified for it.
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Violet
Grgich:
Oh,
my God. I have to speak in front of people, you know. And at some point, I went
to New York, and I went to do a seminar with sommeliers. And I was already
terrified.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
And
I, I walked up in the host, asked the hostess where to go. And she sort of
looked me up and down very slowly and said, "Well, you know, they ask very
difficult questions."
Doug Shafer:
Nice,
nice, that's really sweet (laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
Oh,
really, really nice. So, here I am trembling and getting in there. And, of
course, I happen to be wearing pale colors. And I stand up and I swirl a glass
of Zinfandel. And it starts at my head and sort of-
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Violet
Grgich:
...
goes all the way down... all the way down to my toes. And I'm like-
Doug Shafer:
Oh.
Violet
Grgich:
...
that's it. Gonna die, that's it. No more for me. And, and for some strange
reason, I'm like, nothing worse could have happened. And they didn't throw
rotten vegetables at me. And I opened my mouth, and I made a joke. And I, I
never make jokes.
Doug Shafer:
(laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
And
since then, it's been a lot easier. And now, apparently, nobody knows that I'm
painfully shy.
Doug Shafer:
There
you go.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
that's, that's a great thing. And, you know, I was, I was mad at my dad about
that for a long time. But I have to say it was the best thing he ever did, so-
Doug Shafer:
Well,
yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
...
I'm truly grateful.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah,
he threw you into it, um.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
But
you mentioned a little while ago about being a musician. Tell me about that.
Was that, was that the major passion or just... or the same as the wine?
Violet
Grgich:
Well,
for me, I, I had a number of passions. Music was a huge one. Literature, arts,
uh, uh, sewing and design, uh, astronomy. I, I had way too many passions, but
music was always the one that stood out. And so, when I declared my intent for
studying music, um, I, I was told that was not a possibility, because I was
going to become a winemaker.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
really?
Violet
Grgich:
And,
uh, yes.
Doug Shafer:
I
was gonna ask you about that. So they, so they laid it on. He laid it on thick,
okay. That was good.
Violet
Grgich:
Oh,
yeah. Oh, yeah.
Doug Shafer:
All
right, all right.
Violet
Grgich:
Very,
very thick, very thick.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Violet
Grgich:
How
are you going to make a living? Well, like-
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
...
well, most people don't go into winemaking to make a living. So, you know,
but... so, it was a long story. But being stubborn Croatians, um, he ended up,
uh, the only application that he signed was for UC Davis. So, I went to UC
Davis and studied music.
Doug Shafer:
He
wouldn't sign up? Oh, that's terrible, I’ll have to talk to him about that.
Violet
Grgich:
It's,
it's, it's really okay. I actually had a great education at Davis. And the
music program was great.
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
When
I applied for Indiana University and went through all their entrance exams, I
found that I had a better undergraduate education than most people that gone to
famous music schools, so-
Doug Shafer:
Hmm,
oh, great.
Violet
Grgich:
...
it all worked out well.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
It
all worked out well.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah,
I was a Davis. I loved it. I got a great education, and not just grapes and
wine. It was wonderful. Um, all right. So, UC Davis music and some wine
classes, and then Indiana for a master's in music. And then what, did you go
out and work somewhere? Or do... is that when you came back to the winery?
Violet
Grgich:
Well,
I'd actually been away for a while. So, I, I took my time and I went back to...
I wasn't sure what I wanted to do exactly when I graduated from Davis. So, of
course, came back to the winery. And, and before I knew that, I turned 30. And
I was in shock because I assumed that, by 30, I would already have had my
doctorate. But I just gotten so busy that, um, I didn't really think about it.
So, I, I ended up going back to Indiana University. Uh, my dad's lawyer called
me up and said, "Violet, I have to tell you, you are making a big
mistake."
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
no.
Violet
Grgich:
"This
is a very bad thing that you're about to do. And now that I've told you what my
dad... your dad told me to tell you, I'm gonna say, go girl, have fun. Learn
lots."
Doug Shafer:
(laughs)
Oh, that's really great.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
uh...
Doug Shafer:
That's
good. That's good.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
it's really fun. And I, you know, I kept doing... I, I kept, you know, working
for the winery. I, I had a whole bunch of report. I kept doing a whole bunch of
things administratively. And I would do wine, you know, tastings and vineyard
dinners as well. And then by the time I get back, you know, I'd sort of like,
hmm, this is actually, I'm really enjoying this. And my dad was like, "Oh,
I'm, I'm really proud that my daughter has a master's in music."
Doug Shafer:
Hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
And
so, it sort of all fell into place, you know, a little later than, than either
of us thought it would. But, um, I've really been, you know, in love with what
I do for the longest time. I, you know, I came back and, you know, did more
sales and marketing, more tasting room. I worked in accounting. Uh, so, I
pretty much did everything and found that I really enjoyed that ability to do
everything, and not just be stuck in one particular area where I only had this
very specialized field.
Violet
Grgich:
But,
uh, you know, and I also had a very different view of business. You know,
growing up, I thought that business was dull. It was, uh, not evil necessary,
but just it was all about money. And, you know, and then the more I experienced
it, the more I realized that it's, it's about people and people working
together to create something bigger than themselves and to create something
that benefits all of their families.
Violet
Grgich:
And
that it takes a team to be able to do that. And my dad had always been very
much a team player. He's totally a rockstar. But he always talked about hiring
people who were smarter than he was.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
Always
surrounding yourself with the best. He always had a winemaking team. And we continue
with this day, you know, he was our winemaker. But we also has... continued to
have that winemaking team. And he's always been very much for education for
everybody. So, many people hire cellar workers. They don't educate them. They
do things. They don't know why they do those things.
Violet
Grgich:
They
stay at the same pay scale for their entire lives. But here, there's always
been... you know, my dad always talked about education. Why it is that you're
doing that?
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
Why
are you sterilizing that tank? Why is it that it takes you this much time to do
that? And then you do that, but you don't do this? I mean, it was... it's
always been something that's been very important. And I think that's helped
create an atmosphere, kind of different culture here.
Violet
Grgich:
You
know, it is very family. It's family-owned and family-operated. And we're very,
very proud of that. And, uh...
Doug Shafer:
Well,
that's and, and that, the whole family aspect, you know, has sometimes has a
lot of different... It's a lot of different, just a different attitude, I
think, overall.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
And
that gets shared with the people that work with you. And, uh, it's, um, it's
neat to be a part of it, for sure.
Violet
Grgich:
Right.
Doug Shafer:
So,
you're doing everything. You're there. You're full time. And then I'm doing my
research in the mid-90s. Because I do remember reading about this. Um, you guys
started, whether it was you or your dad or both of you, start a new winery in
Croatia.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
Tell
me about that one, that whole experience.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
that actually was my dad.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Violet
Grgich:
Um,
and he, he did bring, bring me and my cousin along. But he went to Croatia, I'd
mentioned. He hadn't been until, uh, since, um, 1954.
Violet
Grgich:
Just
when he left, uh, Yugoslavia. And when he came back in 1991, or '92 I believe
it was, many, many prominent Croatians who, you know, made their name, made a
fortune, um, outside, uh, of, uh, Yugoslavia, uh, came back and, you know,
talked with the government, talked with the president, how can we be of help?
How can we help assist you? And, uh, president, uh, talking to my dad said,
"Well, you know, you're famous as a winemaker. You should make... have a
winery here in Croatia." And my father's idea for founding this, this
winery, this small winery, which is going to be a tiny little hobby, and it
still is.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
Only
a few thousand cases. Uh, but his idea was to create an educational winery.
Because, after, um, gosh... Croatia used to be known as the premier wine
growing region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. And then once communism took
over, everything just sort of fell apart. And that idea of really producing
quality wines, uh, people got out of the habit. They forgot how to do it. And
he really wanted to bring that back to Croatia.
Doug Shafer:
Hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
his idea was to create a winery in which people could come and be educated.
They can, they can come and work and learn. Learn the techniques. Learn
everything that he learned throughout his journey after he left Croatia. And,
uh, that was rather interesting, because I think that the, the very first thing
that vintners there said to him was, "Why are you putting your wine in, in
barik? You may as well be throwing it into the Adriatic. You're spoiling it,
you know (laughing)." So, uh, it didn't quite turn out to be the
educational experience. But his first wines immediately became known as the
Vrhunska Vina, the top wines of Croatia.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
cool.
Violet
Grgich:
And
he made two wines, one Plavac Mali, which is the grape that he thought he saw
outside of Souverain Cellars when you first arrived in Napa, but was actually
Zinfandel.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
And
the other white wine called Pošip.
Doug Shafer:
Okay.
Violet
Grgich:
And
the winery is called Grgić Vina. We pronounce it Grgich Vina? Uh, it, the only
difference in spelling is that there's no "H," but there's an accent
over the "C."
Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.
Violet
Grgich:
That
gives it that CH sound. Vina means wines in Croatia. And so, the idea was
always to have that connection with our homeland.
Violet
Grgich:
Um,
the winery is beautiful. We had a major, um, forest fire essentially in 2015.
The winery was mostly intact but it ruined our temporary warehouse. And we've
lost all of our wines except that which was in barrel and tank. Um, but we
rebuilt. We have a beautiful new underground cellar now, a beautiful new
tasting room. And I'm working on turning the second floor into a small boutique
hotel.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
cool.
Violet
Grgich:
It
is literally right on the Adriatic. It is such a spectacular location. And due
to COVID unfortunately, it's been sort of on, uh, not on backorder but not
quite on standstill but still waiting on a lot of things.
Doug Shafer:
Sure,
sure.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
I'm hoping in the next two years to be able to finish that. But the winery is
up and running. And it's a gorgeous place to visit. Um, it was my father's
project for very many years. And then Ivo is more involved than I am with that.
But it's a place that I love to go to and I'm looking forward to finalizing,
you know, the hotel and apartments for to be ... Yeah.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah.
Well, let me, let me know when that hotel is open so I can go visit. Now, I'm,
I'm really curious about the wines. Are ... Do any of the wines make it over
here to the States? Or are they all sold locally?
Violet
Grgich:
They
actually do make it over the States.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
okay.
Violet
Grgich:
So,
not only do we bring those wines there but we send Grgich Hills wines over to
Croatia.
Doug Shafer:
Oh,
cool.
Violet
Grgich:
So
yes, we have them available. We have both the Posip and the Plavac Mali
available here at the winery.
Doug Shafer:
Good,
good, good.
Violet
Grgich:
And
due to some compliance, we're not able to ship them to a lot of the states. But
definitely, there's some that we can but always feel free to come to the winery
and visit, so.
Doug Shafer:
And,
and the winery’s on a great location. It's ... I know it's flat, but it's
right, right on the road, right? So, you can't, you can't miss it.
Violet
Grgich:
It's
very easy. You can't miss it.
Doug Shafer:
You
can't, can't miss it.
Violet
Grgich:
Can't
miss it.
Doug Shafer:
That
is so cool. And, um, another thing your dad got involved with was the whole
Roots for Peace back in the late '90s. Um, what was that all about?
Violet
Grgich:
So,
I remember very much my dad went to, um, an event. I ... It was ... I can't
quite remember what the event was. But he came back and he said, "I have
met a woman. She is a force of nature. And she is working on removing
landmines." And my father had always been concerned about the landmines
that were, you know, left in Croatia. And so, he became one of her first
supporters. Uh, and the very first vineyard that they de-mined, her, her, her
line is essentially mines to vines. So, it's essentially taking ... removing
mines from agricultural land and turning it into productive land.
Violet
Grgich:
Um,
and she over the course of these many years developed so that she has quite,
um, a body of people who work literally very directly, who teach people how
it's not just about removing the land and then giving it back to them but it's
teaching them, setting up systems so that they can be productive, efficient,
training them. Uh, started in Croatia, has moved on to Vietnam and Afghanistan.
Um, has gotten support from the United Nations and from the federal government.
Violet
Grgich:
That's
... It's, it's an amazing, really amazing. She was ... Heidi Kuhn is the
founder. And she was inspired by the words of Princess Diana. They just
celebrated their 25th anniversary this year.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
And
we've been very, very proud to support them, uh, for all of these many years
and we'll continue to do so into the future. And we hope that at some point
that there are no more landmines so that her organization might actually become
defunct. That would be the best reason for that to happen.
Doug Shafer:
Yeah,
that's a good goal. I like that.
Violet
Grgich:
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Doug Shafer:
Um,
and then somewhere along the line, you, you married some guy named Colin. Tell
me about that. I don't know this guy. Tell me about your husband.
Violet
Grgich:
Well,
of course not. He's from Manhattan Beach. I mean, he's a surfer and a
skateboarder. Um, so he ... No, I met-
Doug Shafer:
I,
I love it.
Violet
Grgich:
Violet Grgich:
He
really truly. Um, so, he and I met at Indiana University. I was playing
harpsichord and he was playing viola da gamba. And he started out actually as
a, as a punk rocker and discovered the viola da gamba through a movie called
All the Mornings of the World in that it actually introduces Gerard Depardieu
to the American audience.
Violet
Grgich:
Um,
and he played about this composer, a very super frilly fancy French music. So,
he's literally gone from one extreme musically to the other. Um, he ended up
moving to San Francisco. And, uh, we just started hanging out in 2000 and
literally made beautiful music together. So, we got married in 2003, had a son
in 2005. And it's been going strong ever since.
Doug Shafer:
That's
great.
Violet
Grgich:
And
we still play music together, so well.
Doug Shafer:
Well,
that's good. That's good. I'm glad you're doing that. And the son, the son is,
uh, he's ... I think he's my daughter's age, 17, 18.
Violet
Grgich:
Yeah.
Violet
Grgich:
Doug Shafer:
So,
are we looking at the next, next generation? Are you gonna ... His granddad sat
him down and said, um, "This is what you're gonna do?" Or is he able
to avoid that?
Violet
Grgich:
No.
Actually, granddad sat him down and said, "You are very smart and very
talented. And do whatever you can. You know, every day, do your best, learn
something new and make a friend, follow your passions and you will be able to
do whatever you want to in this world." So, I guess it's different when
you're a grandparent and when they you're a parent. I, I, I under-, I
understand. I'm feeling a bit of that myself, you know.
Violet
Grgich:
But
I always want to make sure that my son is also surrounded with the best of
opportunities and is making the most of them and what- whatever they choose to
do in this life and they have many different interests, very, very many for
that range of ... wide, wide range of interests and talents. So, all of those
at some point can be put to use-
Doug Shafer:
Of
course.
Violet
Grgich:
...
in the future in the wine business, so.
Doug Shafer:
Of
course, so. And, you know, following one's passion is, is the secret to, um, you
know, happiness.
Violet
Grgich:
Right.
Doug Shafer:
Happiness
in the, in the work and what you do, so.
Violet
Grgich:
Absolutely.
Doug Shafer:
Good.
Good, good, good. And 2017, you took over as president, finally, which is
great. And so the big question is how is that work with, with, you know, Dad. I
know he's probably backed off a little bit lately but, um, is that a pretty
smooth transition?
Violet
Grgich:
Well,
it was actually very interesting. I mean, I'd sort of been doing the work for a
long time. Um, you know, always in conjunction with my dad and my cousin Ivo.
Ivo had been the winemaker for a long time and he'd been doing the job for a
long time as well. And I had always expected him literally on his deathbed to
say, you know, "Okay, yeah, time, time for you to take over."
Violet
Grgich:
And
was frankly in shock when he, when he didn't suggest it. He just announced it
at our board meeting. And I imagine it had to do because, you know, we had some
fires in 2017. It was a difficult vintage for, for many, many reasons. Um, you
know, my dad was evacuated for over a month.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
It's
surprising his house didn't burn down. He was literally in the middle of the Tubb's
Fire. And, you know, as you recall, we were surrounded by fire, by smoke.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
We
had no smoke taint on our grapes. We have had our ... all of our wines analyzed
from 2016 on through 2021. As you know, 2020 was another very difficult smoky
vintage.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
With
no smoke taint whatsoever which we definitely, um, attribute to our
regenerative farming practices. We're also certified organic but it's the
regenerative agriculture that really makes all the difference. So, in 2017
also, you know, so many things were happening. And, um, I guess I managed to
get us through it. And my dad said, "Well, not bad. You're doing okay.
Yeah, yeah," you know (laughs).
Violet
Grgich:
So,
so, so yeah, it was ... It did still feel very much like a big transition to me
because even though I'd already been doing the work, that feeling of, you know,
he's the, he's the person who is quite literally the rock star. And, you know,
he is a rock star who makes every person that he meets feel like they're the
most important person in the world.
Violet
Grgich:
Um,
when new people come to the tasting room and see him walk in and see the
reaction, they're like, "Who is this guy? He's amazing." And, you
know, I've personally witnessed so many people telling me about how he's
influenced their lives. And my favorite one being, a young gal who told me
that, you know, she came to the winery with her parents and she said that no
grownup had ever spoken to her like my dad spoke to her. He talked to her like
she was a grownup. And he told her that if she work hard and if she work smart,
she could someday do anything in this world that she wanted, even become
president of the United States.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Violet
Grgich:
And
she said that no pers-, no grownup ever influenced her as much as he did. She
came to me I think in her 30s along with her mom who was crying while telling
me this story. And I, you know, to me, that that really, you know, he's made
such a difference in so many people's lives that people don't realize. And
it's, yeah, it's tru- truly remarkable.
Doug Shafer:
No,
it's-
Violet
Grgich:
I,
I can't tell you how many people I've seen cry because they've met him. They've
told him a story of ... It's just yeah, it's amazing.
Doug Shafer:
No,
I've ... You know, whenever I'd run into him, there was always a story. And
it's his eyes ... the, the twinkle in his eye. He's just always, you know-
Violet
Grgich:
Right.
Doug Shafer:
He's
got something coming. And, and he's got ... He has a big birthday coming up,
right? Is that pretty soon?
Violet
Grgich:
Yes,
he does.
Doug Shafer:
I
mean, we're talking a hundred? Is that the right number? So-
Violet
Grgich:
A
hundred. A hundred in about six months.
Doug Shafer:
Wow.
Any, any plans? Are we gonna, are we gonna have a, have a parade or something?
What are we gonna do?
Violet
Grgich:
Actually,
parade is a great idea. But we're definitely having a big party.
Doug Shafer:
Great.
Violet
Grgich:
Um,
and it's going to be at the winery. And we have a lot of, um, very, very
excited people to work with us. Um, Chef ... Iron Chef Morimoto will be
participating. He is somebody that's been our friend and colleague for many
years. They're both immigrants who, you know, learned. They've worked hard.
They've been successful but they've never taken their success for granted. They
are humble, um, and their passion for what they do and their passion for the
people around them is unparalleled. So, he's excited to be participating.
Violet
Grgich:
And,
um, yeah, lots, lots more to come on that. But we are super excited as, as he.
He, he always set the goal of, of at least reaching a hundred. And even at 99,
he has lived longer than any of his ancestors or siblings ... which is still a
great accomplishment. And of course, you know, when you ask him why he has
lived so long, he says, "Wine and woman (laughs)." Not women, woman.
Doug Shafer:
Well,
good recipe. I'll have to keep that one in mind. So, bring me up to speed on
what you guys are making and selling these days. What, what varietals and how
can people find them? What do you guys ... What's the lineup?
Violet
Grgich:
Well,
we haven't changed too much but we became 100% estate grown in 2003. And as a
result added a few new varietals that are available pretty much only through
the wineries such as our Petite Sirah. Um, but we're still most famous for our
Chardonnay and for our Cabernet.
Violet
Grgich:
Um,
over the years, we've added special selections, different tiers of wines that
are available through a wine club, um, and to visitors who visit the winery.
But I love, I love talking or hearing people's stories about our wines because
the, the compliment I hear the most is, "I hate Chardonnay but I love
yours." And they say the same with our reds. They say the same of our
Zinfandel. It's because our style, we've managed to keep our style. Our style
is very subtle, very elegant, very food-friendly, very balanced. It is not a
wine that tastes like anyone else's. That's why it's different.
Violet
Grgich:
You
know, wine styles have become much more homogenized. People are all shooting
for that 100-point score. We are shooting to make wines that make you want
more.
Doug Shafer:
Right.
Violet
Grgich:
And
that make you want more not just after two or three sips but at the very last
end of the bottle or glass.
Doug Shafer:
Exactly.
Well, you're-
Violet
Grgich:
And
that's not easy.
Doug Shafer:
Well,
your dad and your team, they've always made, you know, if I had to use one word
for, for the Grgich Hills wines, I would use the term elegant. The wines are
just elegant, elegant and flavorful. I mean ... And you can count on that. And
that's, that's big. That's big for all of us.
Doug Shafer:
So,
Violet, this has been fantastic.
Violet
Grgich:
It
is.
Doug Shafer:
Great,
great, great stories, things, some things I've never heard before. So, thank
you for sharing everything today. Really appreciate your time.
Violet
Grgich:
Oh,
you're most welcome. I appreciate your time as well. And it's always fun to
talk about my dad and our family story.
Doug Shafer:
You
take care and we'll see you out there and happy, happy end of harvest. See you
around.
Violet
Grgich:
Sounds
great. Thanks, Doug.
Doug Shafer:
Thanks,
Violet. Bye-bye.