The First Week of the Season in Saint-Tropez: Getting the Villa Cellar Ready

The first week of the season in Saint-Tropez is a particular moment. The villa has been closed since autumn, the garden has just been done, the pool is filled, and the family arrives in late May or June to a house that has to work from the first evening. The beach clubs on Pampelonne are reopening, the restaurants are busy again, and the house will be full of guests by the weekend. This is how we help house managers and concierges get the cellar ready for it.

Count what survived the winter

Start with what is already in the house. Check the cellar temperature log if there is one, look at the bottles that stayed over the winter, and throw out anything that was left open or warm. Last year’s rosé will have faded; Provence rosé is made to be drunk young, so the season wants the new vintage.

The season’s rosé

Rosé is what Saint-Tropez drinks at lunch, and it is the category that runs out first. Stock depth rather than variety: a house rosé for the pool, something finer from the Côtes de Provence or Bandol for dinner, and magnums for the table. The Presqu’île de Saint-Tropez is wine country itself, and a local bottle from the peninsula belongs in the cellar alongside the classics.

Champagne and the rest of the list

• Champagne for every arrival and every sunset on the terrace.
• Whites for fish: Cassis or a white from the Côtes de Provence, white Burgundy for the dinner that deserves it.
• Reds lighter and cooler than in winter, with a few serious bottles for the evening when someone cooks a côte de bœuf.
• The bar: the principal’s spirit, gin, tequila, a good vodka, mixers, and far more ice and water than seems sensible.
• Alcohol-free: a considered option for lunch, because a long day in the sun asks for one.

Plan the delivery around the opening

The Gulf of Saint-Tropez is within reach of our own van from Vallauris, so the first week’s order arrives with our own team, not a courier. Give us the date the house opens and who will receive the wine, and we aim to have it in the cellar and the fridges before the family arrives, with a short list of what is where for whoever is serving.

Top-ups through the summer

The first week sets the pattern for the season. Once the household knows what it drinks, a standing order or a weekly top-up keeps the rosé and champagne steady through July and August, without anyone having to think about it in the busiest weeks.

See villa wine delivery in Saint-Tropez, Provence, and our planning sheet for stocking a villa for the week.