The quietest month of the year - a chance to recharge the batteries before harvest and to start planning for 2010.

The weather has continued to be warm and sunny (well quite hot actually!) and the grapes are starting to ripen slowyly. The vineyard is looking immaculate and we are free of disease, particularly oïdium and "vers de la grappe" which is an insect pest and an important cause of Botrytis Bunch Rot - generally used to refer to cochylis and eudemis (species of moth). They start off as eggs (detectable upon close inspection only) which appear as minute "dots" or "specks" on the skins of grapes. This then develops into a "worm" that burrows into the grape and literally takes all the sap leaving a shrivelled fruit behind. Too much of this will soon cascade into bunch rot which we have encountered here in 2006 (though this was also caused as a result of rain and slightly "untidy" vineyard, ie too much foliage and not enough space for air to freely move around to dry the grapes). Not being a conventional vineyard, we cannot use insecticides to protect the vines but we can use an organic product which protects the vineyard. However, making sure the vineyard is clean and tidy goes a long way to preventing disease.

This is the first year where the vineyard has not really suffered from any disease or rot or water stress which is a testament to the good work being done by the team.

Towards the middle of the month, I was starting to become a little worried about the lack of rain and the fact that neighbouring producers were just starting to pick and we were still a long way off. Eventually, rain did come at the right time during the 3rd week of August - enough to quench the vine's thirst (and, boy were some thirsty!). And, as is usually the case here, the North Wind came after the rain to dry out the vineyard and thus prevent any bunch rot from starting.

It is at this time of year that we check out all the machinery and equipment needed for the harvest. I like to get in "early" and be ready to go one month before we actually starting picking as I know that there will always be some last minute "panic" or concern about whether or not the press works! This year we had to overhaul the cooling system which is ancient and seriously on its last legs. But, as my father has always said, if you look after things they will look after you! Since we bought the vineyard and inherited some pretty ancient equipment, I have slowly but surely attended to their "needs" and brought them back to a certain "performance" level that will work for us. However, I also know that as they are literally on their last legs, they could give up at any time and we will have a serious problem (especially if this happens during harvest). We also had the problem of lightening which burnt many of our electrical appliances at the beginning of July and we were not certain if any of the winery equipment had been affected or not. Thankfully this was not the case. The only concern I have this year is with the press (again!) and I sincerely hope that it will last long enough for us not to have to find a last minute replacement. I intend to give it lots of TLC during harvest and "decuvage" (when we rack the tanks after vinification in November) and speak to "Him" upstairs (which I do on a daily basis anyway) to offer some kind of "protection". Talking of which, when Patrick was here recently, we placed a "good luck" charm on one of our resident Buddha's ....................!

Yohanna has returned to help out during harvest. She was first here in 2006, but left after we had the "trouble" with the previous staff. I am looking forward to working with her again and hopefully have some fun together even though we shall be flat out when we start picking. At least I shall have someone to talk to this time rather than chatting to the tanks or singing/dancing around like some lunatic in the winery whilst I get on with the winemaking! Honestly, I shall still be doing a little of this as I cannot help myself and it helps relieve stress/tiredness whilst I pump over the juice or clean a tank!!

The gite has been fully occupied this month too and we have had some really interesting and very nice people to stay. One family (who shall remain nameless), who arrived at the end of the month, managed to get "lost" in the Parc National du Haut Languedoc and I had my first experience of "coordinating" their "rescue" at night with the local gendarmerie and pompiers who were probably thinking "those b****y English ...."! Thankfully they arrived back here around 1am unhurt but slightly "in shock" after their ordeal. A good glass of Combebelle soon covered their nerve-endings!!

My "experimental" vegetable garden (well barrels cut in half) has worked well this year with only a couple of "deaths" as a result of my being too generous with seeds or water! I have had a nice crop of tomatoes (OK, I know anyone can grow tomatoes, but still ...) and aubergines. I have had some peppers and the chilli peppers are doing well and will be harvested next month probably at the same time as the grapes. We would now like to do it properly and establish a vegetable garden behind the house next to one of the vineyards where we shall plant tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes, peppers, raspberries etc which I hope to share with the guests staying in the gite next year. This is certainly going in the right direction regarding "being sustainable" I think!