ARROGANT FROG

"Arrogant Frog: New world wines full of fruit but with a French attitude. And screwcaps."

Jean-Claude Mas comes from a family with a long tradition of wine-making in southern France, dating back to 1892. Educated at business school in England, he combines French tradition with a new world approach to innovation and commercial enterprise. His wines reflect this philosophy. As well as overseeing the commercial activities of the group, he controls the wine-making. The estates make a wide variety of wines, but they all share one thing in common: the pursuit of excellence.

Three words sum up these wines: fruit, fruit, fruit. The wines are smooth, rich and packed with flavour, but not sweet. They are a French response to the challenge of the New World, proof that the French can make wines to match and even better those produced in other countries, with a marketing savvy to boot. Who says French don’t have a sense of humour?

The Arrogant Frog embodies a way of life, which includes an appreciation of good food, landscape and architecture, culture and sport. And a bottle of delicious wine that can be opened with a twist of the screwcap, which ensures that the wine is always fresh, can be drunk anywhere and, in the unlikely event that all the wine isn’t finished at one sitting, can be preserved for later consumption.

At the age of 3,during vintage, and in spite of all dangers due to his very young age, he escaped from his mother and walked 1.5 miles in order to go the cellar where his grandfather and father were fermenting the new wines. Since then the interest and passion for wine hasn’t stopped. At school and university he decided to study economics and advertising while keeping the wine business as a hobby. No matter where he live : the north of France (launch of a wine club), the United Kingdom (launch of an organic and vegetarian wine importing company) or in Miami (French wine promotion board), he was always in contact with his passion : wine. During his professonal life, he gave 3 years of his career in order to satisfy his second passion : car and motorcycle racing, but very soon he came back to the wine business. In the beginning of the 90’s he was involved with wines like Château Pape Clément or Château Talbot in Bordeaux where he worked for 4 years. This experience was critical in his approach to great wines tanks to the famous Bordeaus vintners he worked with. In the mid 90’s he went back to his roots : while being a Director at a large winery in the south of france renowned for the quality of its varietal wines, he thn preared the first blends to be bottled the family estate. The first bottle of wine under his family name was a 1995 wich today drinks exceptionally well. Today The Humble Wiemaker manages 1200 acres of vineyards and two wineries . Because he strongly believes that the vineyards coefirst and it should be perfect in order to give the best possible grappes for the best possible wine.