For the first blog post, I thought it would be nice to share with you my story and how Le Grand Courtâge came to be.  Long ago, when a boat left on a long voyage from France, it was referred to as a “courtage”.  Similarly, my story and these wines are about the negotiations as we journey through life.  Our name is intended to mean “the great courtship”. The wine is a reflection of the courtship between French and American wine culture, the old and new world, and the marriage of unique grapes from key terroirs (regions)…  but most importantly, it is the “courtship” of life, love and the journey with oneself.

Four years ago I was on vacation with a boyfriend and we made the decision to take the leap.  As you only get one chance at life, I made the decision to give up my career as a designer/developer in California and moved to Burgundy, France to follow my second passion relating to travel, food & wine.

The philosophy on the bottle, “Embrace Life.  Dream Big.  Accept all Invitations.”  is not some contrived brand motto, it is how I approach life… though it won’t always be easy and without challenges, but we must be willing to take risks, follow our dreams and accept opportunities that present themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, it was difficult to walk away from a successful career and it was scary to take hard earned money and gamble it on something that could very well fail. But… I believe firmly in the adage that ‘twenty years we’ll be more disappointed by the things we didn’t do than the ones we did’.  I also know that all too often life circumstances intervene and keep people from being able to take a particular path.  At the core, I’ve always found solace in the fact that worst case, I may have to start over financially, but I won’t die from failure. This perspective helps to remove (much of) the fear.  Though I am a dreamer and idealist, I also approach everything with pragmatism and a grounded sense of reality.  I saw an opportunity, did boat loads of research and prepared a business plan before deciding to take the plunge.

The vision was to create an innovative sparkler which offers a French caché and elegance combined with an American appeal and price-point… an everyday luxury perfect for all occasions if you will. We saw a gap in the marketplace and an opportunity to create a French sparkling wine with elegant yet eye-catching packaging, combined with a lighter taste profile than champagne.  At the core, we hope to change the “special occasion” only mentality of champagne by offering an elegant yet affordable French sparkler that pairs well with everything and everyone!

The French start the evening with an Aperitif and enjoy a glass of bubbly daily… we aim to make this part of the American ritual by showcasing it enormous versatility and fun pairing options (fried chicken, spicy Asian, buttered popcorn, shortbread cookies etc.).  Plus, as an added benefit, it won’t stain the rug or your teeth like red wine

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my story, my approach to life and the brand.  In our subsequent posts, we hope to instill some humor, a healthy dose of reality, lots of inspiration and hopefully just be real.  Since this journey began, life circumstances have changed significantly, and the path we thought we were on morphed, but like everyone, we’ve adjusted, gone back to the drawing board, shed a few tears and most importantly, met some amazing people along the way that helped make the dream a reality.  Without a community of colleagues, business associates, friends and family, who helped and encouraged, this dream would not have materialized.

The goal of Le Grand Courtâge is to inspire people to find joy and create a life you love.  We truly want to encourage people to “Embrace Life” and celebrate each other, every day.  In our world, this means sharing a meaningful and effervescent moment with those you love the most.

Until next time…..

Tawnya