Wine fit for a prince and his Port cousins

Why would the owner of a European vineyard who wants to introduce his wine to Americans choose Port Washington for the introduction?

The answer can be found in a story that features a modern-day prince and 19th-century immigrants.

The vineyard is in the Provence region of France, but the owner’s interest in Port Washington derives from neighboring Luxembourg.

The owner of the Cháteau Les Crostes vineyard is Prince Félix of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Henri, the country’s monarch, and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.

The prince said he has admired the way Americans whose forebears emigrated from his country “celebrate their Luxembourger heritage with pride” since he attended the inauguration of the Luxembourg American Cultural Society & Center in Belgium in 2009.

When he recently heard from a wine importer with Port Washington roots who told him of the strong influence families of Luxembourger descent have had on the community, he decided he wanted the people of Port to be among the first Americans to taste his 2024 Cháteau Les Crostes Cuvée Amalia rosé.

The wine importer is Micca Hutchins, who lives in Mount Horeb but was born in Port Washington and happens to have Luxembourger ancestors.

Hutchins discovered the Cuvée Amalia rosé and learned of its relationship to Luxembourger royalty while on a business trip to France. She was taken with what she called “an elegant wine of pale color and great aromatic complexity” and the enthusiasm of Prince Félix for her suggestion of having the wine make its American debut in Port Washington.

In an interview with Ozaukee Press, Prince Félix said, “Sharing Cuvée Amalia with Luxembourgers across the Atlantic, especially through a farming product, which is such a part of our shared heritage, is deeply meaningful for me.”

Hutchins is working with her Port Washington restaurant and bar customers to add the rosé to their wine lists, and she’s confident Port wine drinkers are going to enjoy it. Unlike rosés that can be soft and excessively fruity, she said, Covée Amalia “exudes character and strength.”

Its maker, Prince Félix, described it as “an upbeat wine that you want to share with family and friends and that makes you want to open another bottle as soon as you’ve finished one.”

Félix and his wife Princess Claire have owned Cháteau Les Crostes since 2013, when they received it as a gift from Claire’s father. The estate, located near the town of Lorgues north of Saint-Tropez, includes 136 acres of vineyards surrounding the restored 17th century chateau that the owners operate as a boutique hotel.

The estate’s winery produces about 100,000 bottles of rosé a year from Grenache and Cinsault grape varieties.

Asked if he would like to visit Port Washington, Prince Félix said, “Claire, our children and I would love to someday. It would be a pleasure to meet the community in person and raise a glass together.”