Grgich Hills Estate has been named one of five final nominees for American Winery of the Year in Wine Enthusiast's 2026 Wine Star Awards, the Rutherford winery announced on September 10, 2026. The nomination arrives in a milestone year: 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Judgment of Paris, the blind tasting in which founder Miljenko Grgich's 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay outscored France's finest white Burgundies and permanently changed the world's perception of American wine.
Grgich founded Grgich Hills Estate in 1977 with Austin Hills of the Hills Bros. coffee family. Nearly 50 years later it remains family-owned and operated, now led by Grgich's daughter Violet Grgich as president and co-owner, alongside his nephew Ivo Jeramaz, winemaker and vice president of vineyards and production. The estate farms its vineyards as certified regenerative organic.
Violet Grgich said the nomination, arriving in the anniversary year of the Judgment of Paris and ahead of the estate's own 50th anniversary, is an honor, and that the family is proud to carry her father's legacy forward with a continued commitment to the land, the wines, the people, and future generations.
The Wine Star Awards are among the American wine industry's most visible annual honors, and the American Winery of the Year category recognizes producers for overall excellence. For a Napa Valley estate built on a half-century-old upset victory in Paris, the nomination is both a recognition of current quality and a reminder of the valley's origin story as a world-class wine region. The tasting room at 1829 St. Helena Highway in Rutherford welcomes walk-ins daily.
