Food and Drink
The Vineyard Guys
Is it me or is it HOT! by R}B]u.ÉovSÉÉMMR}v
J
uly has been a funny month with a very wet start followed by plenty of heat, for me personally too much heat, but the vines seemed happy and the couple of thundery nights with a little rain to dampen everything down, no complaints here. Our commiserations go out to those areas that experienced the hail that caused so much damage that we were lucky to avoid. As we move into August the heat continues, not that I’m complaining (well actually I am because getting up to start work at 6am to avoid the heat is not good for me). It feels better after a glass or two in the evening, because you do have to be sociable don't you. There are also the “Marche Gourmandes”, attendance at which is of course compulsory, and on top of that the wine tasting events that we get involved with that extend into the night…… are you starting to feel sorry for us yet? As you may have now gathered, it is a hard life for a vigneron. It is not all wine drinking, entertaining, partying
14 | The Deux-Sèvres Monthly, August 2022
all the time, life in the vines it is hard work, the hardest part is making it look easy. We have been giving tours and tastings almost daily throughout the past few months and are always pleased when people talk about how they, for the first time, see every part of how much goes into making a bottle of artisan wine and that we still, even though we are old and worn out, manage to talk about our property and the wine with true enthusiasm and passion. As difficult as the physical side is, especially with the heat that I just must mention again, you need to have your heart in it if you want to produce the best you can make. That is why, with a genuine enthusiasm, we carry on working the land and welcoming guests and visitors alike. With August here comes the anticipation of September's harvest. Will we have enough sun to give us the sugars we need to turn into alcohol? Will we have enough rain to make the grapes plump and full of quality juice? As the month progresses the grapes are now truly changing
