La Vendange

Well, as predicted after another long hot summer in the Gers, it looks as though 2005 could be another great year for wine here in Gascony.

Our local vignerons, Michel, his father Robert and cousin Alain, who were featured last year on the BBC2 programme "Full on Food", have been hard at work over the past two weeks harvesting the grapes and starting the fermentation process.

At Domaine les Acacias in Bezolles, they specialise in two white wines, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, but last year also added Merlot to the list. Their Petit Manseng sweet white wine dessert wine, the grapes for which will be picked shortly, has won various awards during recent years and is now listed in the Guide Hachette (Michel is one of only a few producers in the Gers to be given this accolade)

It's great fun watching the huge machines plough their way up and down the rows shaking the grapes from the vines. A few specialist hectares are also set aside to be hand-picked for the finest vintages.

So, if you're down this way, why not drop in to the Domaine and buy a few bottles - they also do some great oak-aged armagnac and a mean eau de vie !!