Writer in Languedoc has had her short break back in the good old UK. It’s great to see family and friends and revisit old haunts.

Now I’m back to see what’s happening in the vineyards near my home in France.

Here’s this week’s photo of our Mademoiselle Merlot.

Compare photos from previous weeks.

Languedoc weather has been perfect for ripening the grapes. The vineyards look as if they’re ready to burst!

The whites are looking just as luscious.

Looking back toward the village, you can hardly see the houses through lush vine growth.

It’s a waiting game now. A quiet time.

Many holidaymakers have already left. This coming weekend will see the last mass exodus when traffic is nose to tail at the péage. (Road toll)

Only a few visitors remain – retired folks and families with children under school age. Oh, and the bikers. Last week in August sees the Harleys and the Goldwings filling the promenade at Cap d’Agde, their owners occupying all the seats at Moules a Volonté – all you can eat mussels – or oysters. Cap d’Agde is the setting for my summer short story Aquapark Blues. Read it soon before I put up a new story.

When all the summer visitors have left, we get the beaches back to ourselves. Picnic spots are deserted. Touring dance bands are heading north. The noisiest things left are cicadas singing in the trees.

Summer holidays are consigned to memory. Soon, our village will be noisy again, with the sounds of the vendange – bringing in the grapes to the cooperative and I’ll be out and about, bringing you the sights and sounds of the grape harvest courtesy of my trusty little Coolpix. I’m a writer – I always have my camera with me. Besides, I’m one of those people who enjoys spotting something unusual. And, I usually do.

My short break in Norfolk, England brought a few surprises. On a familiar lane I found an unfamiliar sight.

I didn’t expect to see young vineyards stretching across Norfolk fields.

Last time I looked, the place was full of sugar beet!

There are no fruits. The plants are too young, and, I have to say, are looking a little spindly. However, I’m fascinated to find out what they’re growing under Norfolk skies, and, more to the point, what it’s going to taste like.

Oak trees and grape vines  in the same shot? Is this the changing face of the Norfolk countryside?

I’ll have to wait and see.

Join me next week when we should have news about the first grape picking.

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Here’s our vine. This is the same plant we’ve been watching since week one.

She’s being a bit slow. Other bunches on the same row are turning red in advance of her.

Further along the lane and into the next vineyard and the grapes are even further on in their change of colour.

Skies were grey this morning. Humidity was up again. I met another grower filling large plastic containers from the water pump on top of the hill by the cemetery and we had a word. He was another elderly grower, originally from Spain whose French came bursting forth with rapid Spanish intonation and left me floundering. But, I got the gist.

The Marin is to blame for the dirty weather, he said. He shook his head and pulled a face. He believes we are at least 15 days behind our usual harvest dates. The first problem was the cold weather that went on into June. Now, it’s the Marin wind, bringing coastal fog and humidity from the Mediterranean. There’s more information about this wind here on weather online.co.uk. At its worst, the Marin can lead to devastating flash floods. Let’s hope the wind changes soon.

I didn’t take a photograph of this grower. I think I’m getting a reputation amongst the old fellers in the village. I don’t want them getting the wrong impression. Fortunately, Monsieur Joseph can put them right about my marital status. Remember him? We’ve met with his family from Manchester and had a barbecue together.

Last year, the daughter was a girl. This year she’s a young woman. Groomed eyebrows and everything. Beautiful girl. How does time fly. Here am I watching the grapes grow from week to week and out of my sight massive changes are taking place. My friend’s daughter has left childhood behind. It’s cause for celebration that she is turning into such a delightful young woman, but it’s tinged with sadness for what is past. Those days are never coming back. You can’t live them again. They’re memories now. I remember saying goodbye to my daughter’s childhood.

Enough. I’ll be writing a novel about it if I don’t stop. Or, I’ll be blubbing.

I walked further. The Marin was blowing. The cicadas were still singing.

Past the cemetery and down the other side of the rise there’s a mausoleum. It’s beyond the boundaries of the cemetery itself, at the edge of a vineyard so I wonder if it’s on unconsecrated ground. I wonder who was buried here?

Maybe next time I’m passing I’ll investigate more. I didn’t want to linger. The clouds were gathering.

Later, we had rain. The humidity is off the scale. It was too hot to sleep. I got up at 4am, put some mix in the breadmaker and switched on my trusty iMac to complete this week’s Vine Report. I hope you can sleep where you are!

Cheers! See you next time.

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It’s HOT. This Vine Report is going to be a short one. I haven’t the energy to walk far. My apologies to readers who look forward to lots of new photos of what’s happening in the vineyards. However, here’s this week’s photo of our chosen vine, Mademoiselle Merlot.

The sun is beating down as I stand beside the vines to take the picture. I think I might have been a little weary – it isn’t the best picture I’ve taken. My hands must have been shaking; it’s a little fuzzy. Blame it on the Féria wine.

It’s too hot to walk much further for more photographs. Fortunately, it’s only a short step to take a picture of the other vines we’ve been watching.

Across the road in the next vineyard, Chardonnay vines are plump.

Chardonnay grapes are used in Languedoc’s bubbly – Crémant de Limoux. Sometimes called Blanquette depending on who’s making it and where, it’s champagne in all but name.

We tasted quite a lot of it during the Féria. It’s a great drink for celebrations.

After the three hectic bull-packed days of the Féria, we’re all feeling a little worn as well as more than a little warm. Temperatures have held at the mid-thirties these last two weeks with nights not dropping below 26 degrees.

And the HUMIDITY! Don’t talk to me about the humidity. The Marin brings cloud from the Mediterranean and locks in the heat like a blanket. There’s no escape. Visitors from England learn why we close the windows and fasten the shutters.

Why are you living in the dark indoors? they ask from their sun beds as their skin turns red and crinkly.

For the relief of it, we tell them.

Humidity can be a huge problem in the vineyards.

Powdery mildew is a white fungal growth affecting the leaves and fruit. Affected parts may become yellow and distorted, and the mildew may kill small areas of plant tissue which falls away leaving small holes. The fungi are most prevalent in dry soils but where the air is humid. Plants suffering from drought stress are more likely to be affected. So, the growers have been out spraying and trimming again.

It’s a relief to reach the shade of home.

In the square outside our gate. Where is everybody? Hiding from the sun.

Ah! Home! Anybody fancy a cold beer?

Cheers! A bientôt!

Summer storms build quickly here in Languedoc. Yesterday’s forecast map looked like this:

Storms all over the place. Worse, the dreaded G means grêle which is hail. You remember Master of Wine, Juliet Bruce Jones listed hail as a wine grower’s worst nightmare at this time of year. Languedoc summer storms may be short but they can be very violent. Hail stones are sometimes enormous.The resulting damage to fruits on the vine doesn’t bear thinking about.

Incidentally, you’ll notice from the map that Tuesday was the day of St Brigitte. This is the St Brigitte of Sweden (there’s another Irish St Brigitte of Kildare). I mention this because I’m a writer and these things interest me. St Brigitte of Sweden was the only woman ever to found a religious Order. I’m tempted to make a bad joke about Hail Marys, but I better not.

Back to the weather forecast. The worst of it is further north. It appears that here in Languedoc we’ll be spared. However, the blue sky has temporarily abandoned us and the humidity has shot up again. They’ll have to keep spraying.

Close up, though, things are beginning to happen. Here’s our Mademoiselle Merlot:

The grapes look less vivid green than two weeks ago.

By chance, I met with another wine growing friend who I hadn’t seen for a while. He suggested I have a look at his vines further up the hill. He’s the only grower in our community who grows a variety called Alicante. He told me they are always the first to redden. Robert has offered to take part in my Vine Report posts and I look forward to learning more and passing it on here.

In the meantime, here’s a photograph taken yesterday of his Alicante grapes just beginning to turn.

Eventually these grapes will be deepest purple. I had no idea they did that! I thought they were born purple. That just goes to show how much of an amateur I am. But, you know, that word amateur doesn’t necessarily have derogatory undertones. Doesn’t it come from French lover of and before that from Latin?

So, it’s perfectly okay to be a wine amateur and write a Wednesday Languedoc Vine Report just because you love the stuff and get such a kick out of watching it grow.

Join me next Wednesday for report number 18.

Cheers!

The vines shimmer under heat haze. It is HOT.

Above our famous water tower the sky is deepest blue.

From time to time, there are distant rumbles of thunder in the mountains behind us. Sometimes we can watch thunderheads building fifty miles away. We’re glad we’re on the edge of the storm. We won’t catch the worst of it. In the vineyards, though, vines will benefit from fresh rainwater running in rivers and streams and through the gulleys into the plains.

Now is the season of celebration in all our towns and villages. Our local co-operative Vigneron held a wine tasting evening as part of summer festivities. Himself and I discovered new wines from our local producers and also from further afield.

Here I am with TWO empty glasses. For shame!

It was a pleasant evening in the shade, sampling Languedoc’s most famous export. Our mayor always attends village events. Here is chatting with growers from Magalas.

Their Domaine Moulin de Lène will feature in a future Vine Report. In the meantime, here’s a link to their website. Francine speaks good English and is happy to explain their wine growing methods where they keep to a minimum chemical intervention..

However, more of that in their dedicated Languedoc Vine Report later after our visit and tasting of a full range of their products.

Other musical celebrations are held regularly through July. Five nights of fireworks culminate in the big celebration of July 14th. Thereafter, it’s time for Fiesta. Many of our villages have bull-running through the streets. The Feria is a hectic three-day celebration.

So, it made for a pleasant evening when himself and I took a table at a restaurant on the banks of the river Hérault and watched night fall with a bottle of local Rosé. Magic!

High winds have continued throughout this week in the vines. Then, on Sunday, the wind stopped and the temperature soared. Here’s Sunday’s photos in the vineyards:

I’m looking for a change of colour soon in our chosen grapevine. Merlot grapes are thin-skinned and mature before other red varieties.

Meanwhile, in the Chardonnay field –

Vineyards are looking full of promise. Everywhere you walk, the fields are green and lush.

Around every corner, there’s another fine view of fine wines in the making.

And now that the temperatures have reached the magic number, cigales (cicadas) are singing in the trees and hedgerows. It’s the boys who do the singing – rattling their exoskeleton to attract the ladies. Here’s what they sound like: cigale song video

That’s one of the typical sounds of summer in Languedoc.

You hardly ever get to see cicadas while you’re out walking. Occasionally, they’ll come into your garden. Here’s what they look like:

Their life cycle is unusual. The nymphs spend many years underground before emerging to live a short life as an adult winged insect with one purpose: reproduction.

So, the boys sing like crazy as long as it’s warm enough. How they make the sound is interesting and if you’d like to know more about it there’s a website dedicated to all things cicada. Here’s a link:

http://www.cicadamania.com

And now some exciting news about next week’s post. Master of Wine, Juliet Bruce Jones has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about qualifying as Master of Wine and her life as a winegrower here in Languedoc. I can’t wait. It’s my first EXCLUSIVE. Wow!

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See you next week,

Cheers!

Spraying continues in the vineyards. The vines are healthy but delayed in their development due to unusual weather conditions. A late harvest is almost certain. However, experts tell me it’s still possible for them to ‘catch up’ should the weather settle into its more usual summer pattern.

Winds have been keeping temperatures down. We have a variety of winds here. They all have names. The Tramontane blows from the north; its cousin the Tarral blows from the north-west. Both are powerful; sometimes it can feel as if they’re arguing with one another. They whistle through the vines and make the support wires sing like a ghostly choir.

(There goes the romantic in me coming out again!)

Notwithstanding all this wind and cooler temperatures, Languedoc looks fantastic this month. The light is an artist’s dream: it’s as if the cooler air is cleaner, fresher than usual. Colours are brighter. Evenings are superb.

The contrast of green foliage and red soil is perfectly complementary – exact opposites on an artist’s colour wheel. That’s what makes it so satisfying.

Our Mademoiselle Merlot is looking perky. Here she is.

Vine leaves shade this bunch of baby grapes.

Apart from some wind damage to the top growth, the vines are healthy.

Growers expect a good crop even if it is a little late.

In the vineyard across the lane, the Chardonnay is well ahead. Compare the baby grapes.

I’m licking my lips already. Make space in the fridge! These beauties are best chilled.

Walking through the vineyards is such a pleasure. Each month there’s something different to see.

Those dark trees along the lanes sometimes have a surprise for you. Maybe they’re almonds or figs. Maybe they are pomegranates.

Each flower will become a bright orange pomegranate. What a wonderful picture they make!

Join me next week for the Wednesday Vine watch report. Who knows what surprises we’ll have in store?

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