This is my first harvest at Combebelle so it held a lot of significance for me.

It also came at a time when things were rather stressful and I was worried that I would not have the team in place or that there would be a problem securing the pickers when I needed them. I also only found a Caviste at the last minute who would start one week before the anticipated start date which was nerve-racking in itself as I had never worked with her before and I would just have to trust that she knew what she was doing and would understand the style of wine I was keen to make.

The 2006 �vendange� team consisted of Sylvie and Christian (who are long term contract workers at Combebelle); Louisa who worked with us during the Summer; and, Rosa, Stephane, Christophe, Clothilde and Romain. Yohanna was the Caviste / wine maker. The last two team members were Julo (a Labrador/Dalmation cross) and Chocolat (a gorgeous chocolate Labrador) who kept us all amused in the vineyard. Most of the team had worked together before, the exceptions were Clothilde and Romain who were students looking for part-time work and of course Yohanna who was the Caviste.

Because of the many problems I had had during the year and the fact that I still had a winery full of last year�s vintage, we decided to sell have the crop to the cooperative in Cruzy which meant that around 8ha would be picked by machine. I engaged a local firm who turned out to be brilliant. They had invested in a new machine harvester this year which looked the same as the ones I was previously familiar with but had obviously been upgraded both technologically as well as technically. I had the opportunity to �ride� on the machine and watch it at close hand �pick� the grapes which was fascinating. I also had a birds-eye view of Combebelle which was breath-taking at 7am with the early morning sun just starting to warm up the day. The owner, Monsieur Barthez (father and son), have been doing this for several years and are in fact a �Jack of all trades� in that they provide a wide range of services including building houses, plumbing/electrics etc but more importantly to me they have large machinery to clear our paths and cut back the scrubland surrounding the vineyards. So, I shall be working with them again during the winter months to clear the access around the vineyards, clean the ditches and repair the paths where rain damage has created large craters which make some parts of the property inaccessible even by tractor!

I naturally got stuck right in to the work � spending part of the day picking, driving tractors, unloading the grapes into the receptacle that feeds them into a de-stalker and then pumps them into the designated vats or tanks. It was physically demanded and at times exhausting but I was determined to lend my hand at anything and do everything. I would spend a lot of time in the winery too well after we finished picking for the day to clean up all the equipment and prepare for the next day. In between all this I had to keep on track with running the business, making calls, collecting supplies and most important of all buying the morning�s pain au chocolat for the team! Although this was a really busy and exhausting time, it was also the most fun and rewarding part of the vineyard cycle. I was also lucky to have a great team of people working for me.

The winemaking at Combebelle is different in that we do not use cultured yeasts. Being biodynamic / organic we opted for the least intervention and most natural possible processes both in the vineyard as well as the winery. And, like all my neighbours, I work with an oenologue or winemaking consultant who is there to advise me. This was my first year of working with Jean-Philippe and it was clear that we had slightly different ideas about winemaking. Although Jean-Philippe had been working with the previous owners before and knew the property quite well, our views on what to use or not during the vinification process differed to the extent that he considered my choice too risky. The wines were slow to start their first fermentation (alcoholic) and even then I would not consider adding yeasts as I was sure that they would start working as soon as they were ready. Jean-Philippe actually left a packet of yeast for the rose which was really late in starting to the extent I was quite concerned but I remained confident that the fermentation would start and am convinced my daily pep-talk worked in �waking� it up!

However, I have always believed that taking risks � calculated and informed risks � can result in great things. I am also of the opinion that if great wine was produced 150 years ago with the use of additives and to all intents and purposes �organic� why should I need to do something different? Like most industries, the wine industry has evolved and technology has advanced to assist wine growers / wine makers alike in perfecting their �crop�. However, technology also means that you can produce any kind of wine regardless of country/origin that is of a certain quality and consistency which means that the natural influences of the weather, soil and even variety are no longer the key contributors to a wine�s style/character but rather those of the wine maker. This is one of the reasons behind the success of the wines from the southern hemisphere, South Africa, South America and now Eastern Europe. There technology is the key �ingredient� in the wine making process and hence why many of the wines are similar in character and style. At Combebelle we are differentiating ourselves by being �organic� and biodynamic to the extent that this year we will be applying age-old practices of pruning, ploughing, treating etc by the cycles of the moon. Unfortunately, I do not have the staff numbers to apply this to the whole vineyard but if, one day, I am in a position to employ more people to do this, I will. I shall temporarily step down from my �evangelical� soap-box now and continue with the story!

During vintage time, Jean-Philippe would come 2-3 times per week either to collect juice for analysing the maturity of the grapes or once picked, to analyse the juice/fermenting juice to ascertain sugar levels and at what stage of the fermentation process we are at. He will also determine whether or not the second fermentation (malo-lactic fermentation when the hard green malic acid is converted into the softer/milkier lactic acid) has started concurrently with the alcoholic fermentation. With red wines this is unusual but can happen towards the latter stages of the alcoholic fermentation which happened in the case of two of our vats. This is neither bad nor good, but can be considered an advantage as you can then leave the wine in barrel or tank for several months without disturbing it. Ideally, I would like the malo-lactic fermentation to take place slowly in barrel over the winter/spring following the harvest as this adds a bit more complexity to the finished wine in my opinion. Hence, why I transfer all the wine designated for the AOC into barrel as this is at present our �haut de gamme� wine.

We were not alone in having problems during the harvest. Like most of my neighbours, we were unlucky with the weather during September and as our vineyard is naturally late ripening this added to the stress levels, but then again, in an exceptional year like 2003, having later ripening grapes helps to regain some equilibrium and complexity in the final product. We were more unlucky in terms of the wine making as we had two �problem children� which caused me a lot of concern as they developed excess hydrogen sulphur (rotten egg odour) so we had to aerate all the wines and work them to get rid of this. It meant pumping over the juice onto the cap of skins 2-3 times a day for 30 minutes or longer at a time. This is best done with two people but there were days / times when I just had to do it on my own meaning I had to set up pipes and pumps and climb ladders and spray juice all at the same time! Once I got used to this process I became quite a dab hand at it! There were also the �funny� incidences where I nearly fell into a fermenting tank � I had climbed up the ladder to spray the cap and unbalanced myself by leaning forward too much whereby the ladder took off and decided to see-saw me over the tank. I thought it was quite funny yet scary at the time and only realised how lucky I was not to have fallen in when I came back down to earth so to speak. For those of you who think wine making is glamorous and not dangerous, I shall have to enlighten you that if you fall into a fermenting tank which is full of carbon-dioxide you will not last more than 10-30 seconds before you can say �sayonara�. Although I do not know anyone personally who has died there are many incidences where such accidents have happened. After this �episode� I decided to be a bit more careful and started thinking about how I could make this particular task easier and safer in our winery. The best idea I have had to date involves pulleys and ropes and harnesses with a nautical theme! We have the height to install a system of pulleys etc to allow me to drift safely from one tank to the next which would be great fun as I would literally be swinging from the rafters! I am now talking to our builder about how I can implement such a system without it costing me a fortune, so watch this space!!

All in all, I had a great time and gained much experience during my first vintage at Combebelle. I am now thinking of ways in which we can improve the quality in the vineyard and in our winemaking. I have to make some key decisions now as we begin pruning the vines as this will dictate to some extent our yields. I also need to consider what we need to do to improve the vineyard in other ways and will probably been more severe when we come to do the �green harvest� in July as I would like to reduce yields down to 30hl/ha. Based on the success of the rose, I intend to double production of this next year and will aim to make a small quantity of AOC rose as well. Thinking of our long term strategy which includes a white wine, I am now looking around to either purchase a few more hectares with an established vineyard or to buy in grapes. Being organic we will be restricted in our choice but I am hopeful we will be able to fulfil this part of our portfolio with effect from next year�s harvest. And, depending on how sales go next year, we may or may not decide to sell half the crop again to the cooperative. One thing is sure, I intend to produce two single vineyard wines in 2007 which have already been chosen, to see if we can find that �extra� bit which makes a wine truly unique.

We have also decided not to hire a full-time manager for the time being. I have met and spoken with many candidates about working at Combebelle but we have not really found the right person. There is one candidate who we will consider seriously and we have several months in which to make this decision. During this time we will try to get to know him better and see if it will work out for us. Christian has already given me notice that he would like to officially retire in 2008 so I would need to get someone in to replace him by vintage time next year. Sylvie will remain as will my other trusted seasonal workers who are all helping me to make Combebelle great. We have a unique property that requires someone to be in �tune� with it and also with what Patrick and I are trying to achieve here. There are many things to consider when we come to make a decision to hire someone not least that they have to be on the same wavelength as we are in terms of our philosophy (being biodynamic is a big part of this) and the direction we would like to move Combebelle into. We have a close-knit team working at Combebelle who have many years experience and consider it as their own property meaning that they are conscientious and hard-working and will give me the �extra� effort when needed.

As we come to the end of the year I am starting to look back on the last 12 months which have been eventful in many ways. This time last year we had decided to move to Japan and I had been on my first visit to see if I would like living in a country so culturally different to what I was used to. Also at this time of year we were within weeks of signing all the final purchase documents for Combebelle. Neither of us realised at the time how difficult it would prove to be but despite all the problems this has probably been one of the most rewarding years for me. I have grown a lot and evolved. I have entered into my 4th decade with more confidence and a little more humility than before. I have been blessed to be able to live out my dream and as one friend recently quoted to me: �Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough. � Sir James Barrie�.

The next few weeks will be busy. I am hoping to finally secure a contract with an UK importer / agent in the New Year. I am also looking at some companies in Hong Kong and Japan to see if we can start shipping our wines here. I need to rethink our sales/marketing strategy as this has been more difficult than I had imagined. I have made some headway with 8 UK companies but no confirmed sales as yet. This has probably been the most frustrating part for me and I am disappointed that we have not secured any firm deals / sales in the last 12 months, but I am optimistic and confident that this will change in 2007 so watch this space!

I am going back to France for a few weeks to taste the wines and submit them for classification either as AOC or Vin de Pays d�Oc. I am hoping to complete the website and finally launch this in January in time for Millesime Bio. Patrick and I will be doing some more travelling around Japan before spending a few weeks over Christmas and New Year in Tahiti for some well earned R&R!! I am still waiting to hear back from the Institute of Masters of Wine to learn whether or not I have been accepted on to the course again. If not, I will try again next year which will allow me to focus on Combebelle more. I am working on budgets and planning for Combebelle which will be more transparent this time as we have a lot more information on what things cost and where we need to invest. We are still working on the outside of the house and are now considering our next project which will probably be to renovate the yellow house into a gite which could generate income over the Summer. I am meeting with one of the rental companies in December to see what we would need to do and am talking to our architect about designs and costs. We are also looking at how we can make some further investments in the winery (I would like to replace the large tanks for smaller ones to allow us to vinify each plot individually) and in the vineyard where I would like to start grafting some more Cabernet with Grenache.