The weather was breaking as were the dynamics of the vintage. The intensity of the work and the intimacy of the relationships amongst the team members was soon to dissipate and morph into aloofness. Many of the harvesters were planning their next move, others were waiting to resume a more viable everyday life. Colds were flying about the winery. Meanwhile many of the wines were nearing the end of fermentation and preparations were being made for their transfer into new vessels. The used empty oak barriques were taken out of storage and wheeled outside in front of the winery. There, they were filled with water, emptied, steam cleaned and rinsed out, ready to receive the new wine. Water from the barriques was tasted to make sure that the wood was not imparting any unpleasant flavours and to correctly match the barrels to different wines. New barriques were also prepared and selected according to cooperage and toasting.       In the winery the whites were progressing nicely. Fermentations this year started off particularly quickly. Vats big and …

The next couple of days rain loomed on the horizon and the impending question was whether to pick the grapes or give them extra ripening time. The ideal scenario is to leave the grapes on the vines for them to reach greater ripeness, to know precisely when the rain is going to fall and have the grapes picked and in the winery just before the clouds break. Any benefit from longer hang time would be dashed by unexpected rain as this would provoke loss of sugar and grey rot. After much tergiversation Marie-Thérèse Chappaz decided to harvest her Syrah and Cornalin. The pickers duly worked on both Saturday and Sunday to beat the rain and thereby created a slight fluster in the village: a local resident came flapping into the vineyards in her dressing gown to complain about the noise, and at midday as the crates were loaded onto the back of the truck, a relatively young man standing on his frontdoor step asked us to lower our voices… With most of the vineyards harvested, the …

On the 10th of October I packed my bags and set off for the Domaine La Liaudisaz, in Fully, in the Canton of Valais, in Switzerland. The Domaine is the property of Marie-Thérèse Chappaz, an amazingly charismatic and talented woman, a true “vigneronne” who not only makes wines but also tends to her vines. This she does with formidable determination. Believing that the quality of her wines cannot exceed that of her grapes, she nurtures her vineyards as she would her own flesh and blood. Indeed, herbal teas and bicarbonate of soda are a few of the preparations she administers to her vines, having embraced biodynamics some fifteen years ago. If her wines are phenomenal, her vines radiate exuberance. In the summer, in particular, her vines stand out from those of others. Erect, lush, with vibrantly green and undamaged leaves the vines grow in symbiosis with their surroundings. Aromatic herbs such as thyme and hyssop mingle with wild strawberries, round-leaved pink geraniums, miniature pansies, poppies, grass and colourful flowers a plenty. Lizards, bees, grasshoppers, butterflies, …