A decade in Provence

Stephen Cronk’s love of wine began forty years ago on a trip to the Barossa Valley in his 20s. He rode his tandem bike around the wine regions, alone, and returned to the UK determined to become a winemaker. One day.

In the meantime, he married, had three children and a career that was nowhere near wine. But, he had made a declaration to his wife Jeany before they got married and in 2009, Cronk and family upped and left the UK for Provence. No one spoke French and the only capital he had was from the sale of the house.

“I’d never made wine, never built a brand and didn’t speak the language,” Cronk said on a recent trip to Sydney to launch Mirabeau Dry Gin, distributed by Oatley Wines.

“I was already hooked on Rosé when I arrived in Provence,” he said.

Ninety per cent of the wine that comes from Provence - AOC Côtes de Provence, AOC Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence and AOC Coteaux Varois en Provence - is Rosé.

He and Jeany Cronk arrived there on a mission to make Rosé, to export it for sale in the UK and ambitious to own 1 per cent of the UK's Rosé market. He established connections with multiple growers and today, his family’s Maison Mirabeau owns more than 10 per cent of the UK market.

He says: “I am proudest of the fact that we are still here and still alive! If I’d known then what I know now, I probably would not have started off on the winemaking journey.”

Cronk says that part of the brand's success is its accessibility and affordability.

“It’s a wonderful mid-ground wine,” he says.

Ten years after their big and successful move, the Cronk family bought their own 14 hectare vineyard in Provence in 2019 and spent 18 months preparing it for B-Corp Certification. He and his family are currently waiting - hoping - for the certification to come through.

He says that the best thing about owning his own vineyards is the opportunity to continue the winemaking journey.

“The best thing is that I can now get my hands dirty with winemaking and explore and innovate with barrels, grapes, techniques. The success of the brand is the basis from which we get to fulfil our winemaking fantasies,” he says.

Maison Mirabeau Dry Gin is a part of that innovation and exploration. It is a sustainability story and part of the regenerative viticulture that the Cronk family is so committed to.

The new Mirabeau Maison Dry Gin is made with the grapes and grape skins left from the winemaking. The grapes and Rosé that is added to the gin leaves its beautiful blush and a roundness to the final blend.

“Grapes make exceptional gin,” says Cronk.

The botanicals are sourced from the beautiful Grasse region- herbs, lemons and juniper - adding further aromatic layers. The result is a pale pink gin, with a unique style.

He says that consumers will find that Mirabeau Dry Gin is drier than other gins - an important differential in an ever growing market.

Along with Maison Mirabeau Rosé - available in bottles, boxes and cans in the UK, the US and the Netherlands - Mireabeau Dry Gin is now available in Australia and ready to mix in your gimlet, negroni or margarita right through spring and summer.

Mirabeau Dry Rosé Gin is gluten-free, 100 per cent naturally flavoured with no residual sugar, and made in France with carefully selected botanicals. It is available in Dan Murphy’s and BWS Australia-wide, RRP $79.99.