A glass of bubbly Cuvee served up on a lazy labor day afternoon at Croteaux.
Lucky me to have good friends Clair Baldwin (designer) and Chris (architect) Smith who are very good friends with Croteaux Vineyard owners, Paula and Michael Croteaux. Even though they were sold out of wine, closed for the season, with a get-the-hint? wooden barrier up at the end of the driveway, when Chris and I rolled in the driveway, Paula graciously opened her tasting bar--just for us--and popped open some amazing Rose. She expertly poured into stemless flutes atop a bar counter made of rustic barn wood. I love the details--can't you tell.
Paula Croteaux has impeccable "rustic contemporary" design taste. Everywhere you looked on their expansive property, was an exquisitely considered and styled vignette, like their barnwood tabletop tasting table area (below).
Red wire chairs are pulled up to several barn-wood-topped tables
in the sunny gravel courtyard area.
The pretty bottle (with bird graphics designed by Paula's husband) had the most delicious sparkling rose. "Croteaux Cuvee Sparkle" ($24) is made in the French Charmant style (where wine is fermented in a sealed tank, retaining the carbon dioxide that's normally released from still wine production), and is dry, crisp with effervescent bubbles. A delicate pale peach color, it offers lively fruit flavors with a subtle tangerine finish. Definitely fun to drink!
With Chris and Clair's two boys, Raleigh and Gavin and my Max happily occupied chasing Paula's dog, we adults took a moment to toast the splendid sunny summer afternoon, the harvest and--of course---Earl's bypassing the vineyards and sparing what is shaping up to be one of the best vintages in years! La Vie en Rose, indeed.
http://www.croteaux.com/
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