Sometimes crazy ideas are the best.

At least if you implement them consistently.

Stephen Cronk had such a crazy idea around ten years ago when he suggested that his wife Jeany move to Provence.

The couple was living in London at the time, had three children and good jobs - he imported wines, she was in charge of marketing for a technology company - and yet they set off into the unknown.

Today they run the Domaine Mirabeau near Saint-Tropez.

Jeany Cronk told this story during a digital wine tasting.

Maria Wiesner

Editor in the Society department at FAZ.NET.

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The native Bavarian gives a small digital view of the "Plaine des Maures", a nature reserve that lies above the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, with a swivel of the video camera.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had bought their winery somewhere nearby.

“Our budget was of course not the same as that of the VIPs,” says Cronk, looking satisfied with the vines and the 20 hectares of the domain.

Back in the whitewashed kitchen, which is criss-crossed by sturdy dark bars, she picks up the wine glass and presents her rosé wines.

That is what the couple concentrated on.

Right from the start, it had been to try "regenerative viticulture" and to focus on biodiversity.

With around 300 days of sunshine a year and cool nights, Provence has an ideal wine-growing climate.

Under the “Mirabeau” label, the Cronks now not only sell the rosé from their own vineyards, they also work with winegrowers in the region who are also committed to organic cultivation.

A good dozen bottles now bear the label with the vine, which is circled by five birds - each one stands for a member of the Cronk family, which like the grapevine is putting down new roots here in the region.

Berry aromas and a hint of lavender in the glass

Jeany Cronk introduces the “Mirabeau Classic” as “our first baby”. The Rosé Cuvée, which the participants of the digital tasting at home pour themselves into the glass at the same time, contains the grape varieties Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, which grow on the soft soils in the middle of Provence. In the glass, fruity aromas of currants and strawberries unfold, and is it lavender or is it just imagining it because after the first sip one dreams a little of Provence?

The slim bottle with the curved print “Pure”, on the other hand, carries the salty minerality of the mountains near Aix-en-Provence, which gives the Grenache and Syrah grapes more freshness. In the glass it is reminiscent of a touch of pink grapefruit. "It goes perfectly with seafood", enthuses Jeany Cronk and adds: "You can drink one, two or even three glasses of it."

While Cronk uncorked a bulbous bottle with the beautiful name "Etoile", meaning star ("our star, this is not a rosé for the pool, it belongs on the table"), she explains how she perceives the increasing demand for rosé: “I can empathize, I just loved rosé in the beginning. Many people are afraid of the complexity of wines, and rosé goes well with many dishes and occasions and causes little fear of contact. "