Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
'What about the vineyard? How much money do they make?'
'They sell everything in bulk to a
négociant.
Based on the numbers they gave me they
gross about twenty thousand a year. If that's true, after costs, they make nothing with two
of them working full-time.'
A
négociant
buys wine in bulk then blends it with other wines and bottles it for sale. We
knew they paid low prices for wine but this income sounded wrong, far too low. We had
to be missing a zero. We agreed that Sean had misheard and moved on, ignoring the harsh
reality of the wine crisis.
'And the winery?'
'The winery needs investment.'
We avoided discussing where this 'investment' was going to come from. Based on rough
calculations, with the money from selling our house, after paying off the mortgage, we'd
have just enough to buy this property. We'd be throwing everything we had into it and there
wouldn't be any left over for renovation or 'investment'. There was a long pause where both
our minds churned silently over the financial elements.
'Did you taste the wines?' I asked.
'The sauvignon blanc and the red. They're surprisingly good given the state of the place.
The vineyard slopes are steep and well drained. Monsieur Dupont says it's a good vineyard
but it needs renovation. The soil is similar to what we saw on the grand crus classés plateau
and slopes in St Émilion; clay and limestone. I think it can produce great wines.'
Thatwasit:greatwines.Ourdreamwasmorethanavineyard,itwascreatinggreatwines.
I went to bed but couldn't sleep. My body tossed and my mind thrashed in all directions.
It was what we wanted and I was excited but the prospective upheaval was immense. The
mere logistics of making the move were turning me into an insomniac; the idea of what we
would do when we got to that foreign land and had to create our wine was beyond me.
When Sean got home we spent an exhilarating afternoon arguing the pros and cons of
Château Haut Garrigue. That evening he presented me with a bottle of vintage 2000 red
from the vineyard. He poured tasting amounts into our Riedel glasses.
Riedel makes what some believe are the finest lead crystal wine glasses. They are crafted
to bring out the best in wine through their shape and design. We thought Riedels were only
for wine snobs, then our closest friends gave us a pair for Christmas. Drinking wine from
them was like listening to a symphony on a serious sound system compared to a portable
CD player.
