Beautiful October

Misty mornings, warm sunny afternoons, last grapes on the vine as the harvest is safely gathered in - this really is a beautiful time of the year in Provence.

Glorious June

Our local wine domaine, vines soaking up the sun and roses in full bloom.  This vineyard has one of the most glorious settings nestling in the hills between the lovely villages of Roussillon and Goult.  Makes topping up the wine stocks a real pleasure.

To hand pick or not?

As we were walking out this fine morning on what should be but isn't, our daily constitutional, we came upon this fine crop.

What makes this shot interesting is the condition of the fruit. Like 90% of the producers around here in the Luberon this vineyard mechanically picks the grapes. Now our good friends the winemakers at Domaine Fav maintain that to get the best results everything has to be handpicked in order to only take the perfect bunches leaving out the dried up or mouldy stuff. Makes a lot of sense. What makes this shot interesting is that the vineyard has been up and down the rows cutting out the less than perfect bunches and cutting back the foliage. Very clever, minimum labour cost on the hand picking, maximum speed in the cool of the morning which is needed for the white and the rosé wine.

Ripe for the picking

Grenache, Mouvedre, Syrah? Its picking time in the Luberon again and ripened by the superb summer weather this year, these grapes are certainly ready for the picking. Word has it that 2010 is going to be a very good year.....

Vendage 3

When the press breaks down there's nothing for it but to get in there and squash the buggers down with your feet!


Who is that fat bloke anyway?

Vendage part 2

And back at the press the fruits of our labours are unloaded. Today its Roussanne and Rolle for the 2010 white.

The vendage began more than a week ago

And the weather has been perfect for picking. Early morning starts to pick the grapes before they get too hot, a boozy lunch with chez F, and an afternoon snooze. Eat your heart out Anglo-Saxanoy!

Who are these people?

This woman looks familiar