Collins Avé Champagne
collins avé champagne
A luxury Champagne label from Indianapolis-born founder Curtis Collins, made in Vertus from hand-harvested fruit. One of a small number of Black-owned Champagne brands in the United States.
Founder, Curtis Collins
Curtis Collins grew up in Indianapolis. He went on to play professional football, and when that chapter closed, he started building Curtis Avé.
The name comes from Collins Avenue in Miami, where a celebration sparked a question Curtis couldn't let go: why was he always showing up to moments he didn't own? That question became Collins Avé, a Champagne label he founded in 2023 with the same focus he brought to his athletic career.
The label is made in Vertus, in the Blancs-Coteaux sub-region of Champagne. Collins Avé is among a very small number of Black-owned Champagne brands in the United States.
FARMING AND WINEMAKING
Fruit comes from the vineyards of Vertus, farmed sustainably and harvested by hand. The Brut Rosé spends a minimum of 36 months on lees — well beyond the non-vintage requirement — and is vinified in stainless steel to preserve clarity and freshness in the fruit.
VINEYARD
Vertus, Blancs-Coteaux, Champagne
Vertus sits at the southern end of the Côte des Blancs, a Premier Cru village historically associated with Chardonnay. The Blancs-Coteaux designation covers a cluster of villages here. The Brut Rosé blends Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier from these vineyards — fruit sourced and sustainably farmed, hand-harvested.
