The weather is still pretty decent at the moment so we've been sleeping with the windows open.
For the last couple of days we've been woken at 6am by the local viticulteur driving past in one of these beasts on his way to work...they're quite a sight, almost like something out of War of the Worlds.
The local lanes are also buzzing with the smaller tractors scurrying along with trailer loads of grapes. They need to crush them as soon as they're picked and it's always fun watching our totally laid back Charentaise friends and neighbours suddenly rushing too and fro....it only lasts a few weeks mind before they revert back to norm.
This year it looks as though it's going to be a decent harvest so the 5,000 farmers in the Charente should be fairly happy.
For info, a hectare of vines in Grand Champagne costs roughly €35,000 (compared to an average agricultural value of €5,000 across France) and around 150 million bottles of cognac are sold each year.
My good friend Andy has some much better photos (and more interesting accompanying words) on his blog which you can access here.
www.cognacproperty.com
1 comment:
Must say I love my wine, Italian or French. Lovely to hear people at their work bringing in another year's supply, nothing like working with nature.
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