The grape escape

It really does make a lot of sense. As holidays come to an end there is the temptation to throw in the regular job and move permanently to the sunshine. After all, what could be better than finding a place in France, perhaps a nice blue-shuttered house with vineyards attached and the prospect of sitting in the sun while the vines produce next year’s fabulous crop? Of course the dream includes hoards of enthusiastic wine-drinkers who seek you out and clamour to buy your top-notch wine at inflated prices, providing a life that is easy, profitable and fun. This has to be the time to do it.

James and Catherine Kinglake did just that in 2003. They are the proud owners of Domaine Begude in the heart of the Limoux region of the Languedoc and their 29-hectare vineyard produces wine which is sold in top restaurants as well as retail shops, including Majestic. Deciding on a total change of lifestyle, they sold their London house and bought the classic blue-shuttered house surrounded by vines. “So, has it been easy?” I asked when I visited the region recently.

The look I received said it all. Despite thoroughly enjoying the whole aspect of growing grapes, making wine and getting markets established, it is clear that this is not an easy occupation. For a start, the conversation becomes quite dirty. “We have put around 100 tonnes of horse and sheep manure on each hectare of vineyard. That is almost 3,000 tonnes of muck, which is quite a pile,” said chief tractor-driver and muck-spreader James. And despite buying an established vineyard, it was in a fairly run-down state, so there has been replanting, deep-ploughing and trellising to do as well as fitting out a winery and generally keeping the place up to scratch.

They have experimented with different grape varieties and now there are two different clones of low-yielding Pinot Noir vines producing a red Pinot (fresh cherry and raspberry fruit) as well as the more established, delicate, elegant Pinot Rosé (£7.99 on multibuy at Majestic). Gewurztraminer and Viognier have been planted, adding to the range of white wines and there are thoughts about further experimentation within the rules of the region.

Begude was an organic vineyard when the Kinglakes bought it and they have maintained it as such, favouring natural methods of dealing with pests and diseases, although they do not declare their organic status on the label. This kind of agriculture demands a lot of attention, not only muck-spreading, but also specialised equipment to keep the weeds down between the rows of vines.

One of the main worries has to be the weather. A sudden burst of hail can wipe out the crop which means no income for the following year. “That happened in 2006 when we lost around a quarter of the crop, and there is just nothing we can do about it,” said James. And even when you have tended your vines, brought in the crop and made your wine, there is still the huge task of selling it. Breaking into the market with a new brand takes time, attention to detail and persistence, but over the years Domaine Begude has gradually become established on the shelves of Majestic and other stores. La Belle Ange 2010 Chardonnay, (£7.49 on multibuy, Majestic) which translates as “the beautiful angel” is named after Millie Kinglake who arrived exactly nine months after James and Yorkshire-raised Catherine Kinglake acquired the vineyard. This is a crisp, honeyed pear and citrus wine, delightfully food friendly and delicious. New on the shelves at Waitrose (£8.69) is Terroir 11300, another Chardonnay-based wine with rounder flavours and more structure.

I tasted through the whole range over dinner and each wine was balanced and elegant and seemed to have the kind of concentration and persistence that comes from well-grown, organic grapes.

Sometimes it is just one half of a partnership that wants to throw in the job and grow grapes. Catherine Wallace has been in the wine business all her career but decided that she wanted to get closer to the vines and in 2005 she and partner Patrick bought Ch. de Combebelle with 11 hectares of Syrah and Grenache vines in the hills of St Chinian.

Patrick has held on to his day job in pharmaceuticals which frequently takes him overseas so he visits Combebelle whenever he can, but for Catherine this is a job which sees her taking full responsibility for the vineyards and wine.

Also working organically, Catherine has put in long days and a huge amount of work to bring a dilapidated vineyard up to standard. Once again the weather is a major point in our conversation. “Hail can be a huge problem here but thankfully we have not had any hail since we have been here.”

Even so, heavy rain wiped out the crop in 2007 leaving the grapes soggy and rotten on the vines. Selling the wine can also occupy a lot of time. “We were hit when Oddbins closed,” said Catherine “which was quite a blow, but now we have new listings with Waitrose and Booths.”

As Catherine’s work begins to show in the quality of grapes and wine, the demand for Ch. de Combebelle wines has increased dramatically, but that has taken five years of hard work and investment. Meanwhile, the newly renovated vigneronne’s cottage which comes with use of the pool is now let out as a gîte (www.combebelle.com) bringing in cash which immediately is invested in new posts, vines and a machine to control weeds. Tasting through her range the progress in quality was clear to see. Booths has the warm fruity 2006 Château de Combebelle at £9.95 which is well worth a try.

Compared to the Kinglakes at Domaine Begude and Catherine at Ch. De Combebelle, Bertie Eden is an old hand at growing grapes and making wine. He has been in the region since 1984 and now runs Ch. Maris in the very best part of the Minervois where he uses biodynamic methods for his vines.

His new winery is gradually rising out of a hillside, a low-impact building made of blocks of hemp and lime which will run on carbon-neutral lines. It all sounds quite extreme until you taste the wines. Ch Maris Vieilles Vignes 2009 is a rich, concentrated Syrah Grenache blend with supple tannins that is well worth its £12.99 (Waitrose).

This whistle-stop tour of the English abroad showed me that it is perfectly possible to give up the day job and buy a vineyard, but what is equally clear is that no-one spends their time sitting on a veranda sipping their wine. Easy, profitable and fun? Not really, but none of them would swop their new life for the old one.