Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ferent vintages and how they made their wines. I was stunned at his openness. We would be
direct competitors but despite this he shared his passion and knowledge without hesitation.
Lucille returned for another visit sporting a slightly different Bergerac wine T-shirt that
meant that Sean had to carefully check the new words printed in a strategic area. Despite
my misgivings - how could someone so good-looking and so well endowed also be gif-
ted at winemaking? - she seemed thorough and genuine. To top it all, she had worked at
one of the top estates in Médoc, a favourite of ours, before becoming a consultant. It was
serendipity. We decided to appoint her as our oenologist.
Lucille didatourofthewineryandpromisedtoletusknowwhatweneededtobuybefore
the
vendange
. The word
vendange
, harvest, struck excitement and terror deep within me. It
was months away but I already felt my nerves tighten at its mere mention. There again, the
little word 'buy' also gave me a frisson of fear as we had completely emptied the coffer for
equipment.
As we walked around the dingy interior of the winery I felt dread. It was dark and dirty. I
had déjà vu to our arrival in the shuttered kitchen the first day at Garrigue but I could tell
that this would take a lot more work than the stainless steel sink and kitchen cupboards. We
needed to service the presses, clean and sterilise the winery from top to toe and purchase
some small pieces of equipment. Still, the 'wish list' from our oenologist was not as daunt-
ing as I had expected.
The following morning my brain churned through our precarious financial position as I
watched the dawn creep across the vineyard over my steaming cup of two-bag brew, now a
well-installed habit that offered me a deep sense of comfort in this unfamiliar world. I had
finished an entire pass of the vineyard in three weeks. My fingers absent-mindedly stroked
the mass of scratches on my right hand, testament to the thorny walls around our vines. It
was almost time to start the weeding and shoot removal again but Sean was back on form
and I could bow out of the vineyard and get back to my renovations.
