A long day ... Domaine Pontfract, Correns

The younger-looking one has been making wine for 73 years ... Domaine Pontfract

Monsieur Paul has been making his wine for 73 years.  That must be a world record, no? He started aged 12 during the war when all the men were either fighting, in prison or labour camps. He says it was hard.

But the 350 year old family estate had to survive. Today, trim and distinctly more active than me, he was still at the cellar, alone, supervising the arrival, crushing and pumping of the grapes from his 35 hectares of prime land in Correns, the recently famous Provencal village where everything; wine/ food is 'Bio'... shops, farmers, everything.  Brad Pitt and Angelina now have their Château de Miraval here. (Years ago we sold volumes of that when owned the by jazz pianist Jacques Loussier). 

We liked the village's attitude so much we then put our Flying Winemakers into their co-op winery for several years. Made a difference. But now we are happy with M. Paul who was surprised to learn that there is a town called Pontefract in Yorkshire. He wished he'd known … would have liked to join in the Tour de France festivities. Amazing man, great wine. Living proof you can never really retire from our world.

A long drive up and up to the hills around Pierrevert and dynamic winemaker Hubert Sylvestre … who looks like a modern day Porthos and works in the highest vineyards of France. He is an inspiring guy. Big energy, big personality. And … just big. Few take the trouble to drive the many miles of winding roads up to where he works but these sunny-but-cool heights produce some of the most exciting, undervalued wines of France. His 'Art de Provence' has been our best selling rosé for some years and now his Alpes de Haut Provence 2014 … looks set to win him yet more followers.

Hubert, (pron. 'U-Burr') at Alpes de Haut Provence

As is our habit, we were there as the crop was arriving. Masses of fruit aroma. Great stuff to work with. Visit again next month to grab the best.

Air France is on strike yet again but it’s their subsidiary Air Corsica flying us to Figari. Why? Well, Corsica is, judging by their newspapers, still a fairly violent island.  Possibly, upsetting your passengers here could be fatal.

Our first wine buyer here was robbed at gunpoint in the mountains. And we are off to see a brave widow who once had her and her late husband's winery blown up from under them … what she dismisses as 'un événement plastique'. ('Plastique' round here does not a refer to picnic cutlery.)

Doors firmly locked we set off for Domaine Azitella. Originally from Normandy, Sophie Gandolph moved here from Paris and – ever elegant – looks Parisienne. She met her late husband there and her friends were horrified she was happy to leave for bandit land. He was one of the many Pieds Noirs – North African winemakers, who fled here when things got unpleasant. They usually succeeded well but there was a lot of anti-immigrant resentment … and, round here,  plastic explosive. Disaster.

The solution was to draw around them nine other wine producers – all native Corsicans – and build a new, communal cellar in the middle of her vineyards. That has offered protection. So far. The cellar is now presided over by the rather shy and retiring André Casanova. Maybe not a good name for such a quiet chap. It is actually run by a dynamic young winemaker from the Loire (Muscadet). But  Christophe Paitier was asleep, they said. 

Sophie works there as do others in the group. They are a particularly dynamic bunch and becoming very successful. We arrived after dark and very hungry so a bunch of them took us up into the dark hills to a rough-hewn little stone shack that was doing a roaring business with locals. I don't think they'll get tourists as there are no signs of any kind. It’s a while since I've eaten in a smoke-filled restaurant but laws, round here, are not enforced … or even known about! Menu was meat, meat and more meat. Plus fritters.

With Sophie ... night harvest

Afterwards we returned to the winery and watched grapes arriving – I love that – until at 2.am we just had to go sleep. The Directeur took us round the fizzing tanks, he now all awake, bright-eyed and bouncy … they harvest at night here because they want cold grapes … stay fresher … wine is fresher.  So ??? Sleeps in the afternoons and works all night and morning.

I saw something very rare in the receival bays; a mix of red and white grapes. The increasingly popular Sciacarellu vine (looks scary, but easy to pronounce: chac-ar-Ello) grows grapes of both colours which ripen at the same time. We are here mostly for their rosé which is getting very

popular. Clearly this is a grape variety just perfect for rosé.

We tried a lot of delicious juice in different hues. Chenin, Chardonnay, Grenache, Merlot, Sciacarellu, Nielluciu (pron: knee-El-Ootche). Corsica is Southern Provence. Wines are similar but a touch Italianised. No bad thing.  Must remember tank 52 chardonnay. We'll be back soon.

Not yet autumn in Wyfold and Windsor

We sat – wife, dog and I – having a post-work beer, in front of vineyard cabin last night. Darkness falling. We like it up at the top of Wyfold evening time. Our house – a couple miles away – is very shaded by the big trees on the Common so we never see a sunset. The vineyard by contrast has a huge sky view all round except for the sheltering north copse under which we sat.  Tranquil.

Until we noticed the yellow leaves floating down on us from the trees above … a cause for concern. And puzzlement … such that Barbara went back over to check again the vines she'd just been working on.  No, the vines were definitely NOT losing their leaves. On the contrary, they are growing more … like never seen before. The trees may think its autumn. But the vines don't. Why? What does this mean?

We've had two big work parties here. Volunteers from the village and from Laithwaite's. Stripping away like mad; pulling off big handfuls of the lower leaves to expose the bunches behind. A week later, the damn things have grown back. So Barbara and everyone she can coerce are stripping again. It’s to let the air and light in on to the grapes. To chase away the moisture that could lead to dreaded rot.

There's a good crop out there.

Also in the New Aquitaine House vineyard at Theale, also at Henry's Marlow and at the Royal Farm vineyard in Windsor. All now, for the first time, in full production.

Keep going little vines. And more sun please!

We'd had a quick look at Windsor that afternoon.  The Company holds this 'English Sparkling' competition for who has done most to promote our National Wine.  The prize was a good lunch with Barbara, myself and Anne Linder who keeps her eagle eye on our vineyards. For the lunch she chose the Royal Oak at Holyport. It has a cracking wine list with lots of the obscure little-gem wines I love. Mo the manager runs it with Nick Parkinson, Sir Michael Parkinson's son.

This, of course allows me to tell everyone as how Sir Michael was a very early customer of mine in … 1971. He'd come in regularly for his two favourite wines: my two best-sellers back then; the special cuvee Bergerac Rouge I got through my mate 'Popol' – played alongside him in the 1968/9 Castillon XV … so then of course he was obliged, when chief oenologist in Bergerac, to slip me every year, the name of the best tank that came through his lab – and Chateau de Panisseau Bergerac Blanc Sec. Lovely wine. Much missed. As was Michael, didn't see him much when we moved to Slough. 

Anyway, great lunch and we drank (it was a prize, so I couldn't stint). The Basque wine IROULEGUY from the Pyrenees and a SAVOIE ROUSSETTE from the Alps; wines I used to ship long ago.

Then a Spaniard from Leon BIERZO which we do still ship and a good Chianti-type Tuscan LA DIFESE TENUTA SAN GUIDO 2011.

To finish;  LATE HARVEST TORRONTES - from high up in SALTA ARGENTINA & PINOT GRIS VENDANGES TARDIVES BOTT GEYL 2008 Didn't finish all of course. We taste only. We are moderate folk.

Anyway well done and thanks to Will Waters, Simon Millard and Alex Eager. You ever want a good steer on wines call/mail one of these three very wise men. I do.  

Anyway, by way of recovering with some fresh air we then took the back roads over to the Great Park. The vineyard is in a private area of the Park. There is tight security … but it doesn't control the abundant wildlife; but then … it is a Wildlife Reserve. All the usual stuff … which behave themselves more or less, except the parakeets! Aussie escapees. There's a big flock of these colourful, noisy and destructive b***dy birds. Overgrown budgies. That like grapes. My plan this year is to hang little mirrors and bells around the vineyard … distract them: "who's a pretty boy? Who's a pretty boy?" Ting-ting.

Hopefully, meanwhile, we'll get a good crop. Looks good so far. Vines well stripped, grapes healthy.  But more sun please.