Risqué Revelry

Celebrate With Toad Hollow’s Vin Vivant Sparkler

By Kathy Casteel

            When French music halls introduced the cancan to 19th-century Paris, Parisian society was scandalized — and entranced. The racy routine of high kicks and uplifted skirts was an immediate sensation, dubbed Le Ballet Risqué for its, shall we say, exuberance. California’s Toad Hollow Vineyards pays tribute to the legacy of the lively dance with its seductive French sparkler, Risqué, an aromatic, sparkling white wine that is perfect for Valentine’s Day.
            Risqué carries an intense bouquet of peaches to the nose. The delicate taste of peaches, pears and melon dances on the palate with a light effervescence. Low alcohol, balanced acidity and only a touch of sweetness make Risqué a crisp and refreshing sip.
            The wine comes from Mauzac Blanc grapes grown in the moist, cool vineyards of southwest France. Mauzac is a late-ripening white grape cultivated in the Gaillac and Limoux districts of Languedoc; known locally as Blanquette, it lays claim to producing the first sparkling wine in France, long before Dom Pérignon ever popped a cork in Champagne.
            Risqué gets its fizz the old-fashioned way, through méthode ancestrale fermentation, an ancient technique where the young wine is bottled before the residual sugar has fermented to alcohol. Additional fermentation in the bottle results in a slightly sweet, low-alcohol (6 percent) sparkling wine.
            Artist Maureen Erickson’s whimsical labels on Toad Hollow wines are inspired by Kenneth Grahame’s classic children’s book, The Wind in the Willows. Erickson’s rendition of a cancan dancer, Moulin Rouge Toad, adorns the Risqué bottle, which also comes with a clever self-closure to maintain the wine’s sparkle.


Toad Hollow Risqué is on the wine list at Bleu Restaurant & Wine Bar.