The cereal harvest is mostly over in France although I saw a combine cutting oilseed rape as I drove down though Normandy and standing crops of wheat and rape on my return a week later.  From the coast it was largely pasture and maize for silage but as I ventured further south, the fields opened up with more arable stubbles.  Once in the Loire Valley, my destination, vineyards were the predominant land use, interspersed with cereal stubbles, maize and sorghum for the cattle’s winter rations and sunflowers.  One tends to forget that, judging by English standards, farming is large parts of France is still very mixed with numerous cattle.

            The sunflowers were variable, some in full flower, others yet in bud.  I was told that this is due to sowing date, the farmers vary the time of planting to spread the harvest.  There were fields showing bright yellow, the huge flower heads all pointing in the same direction like columns of mediaeval monks with their cowls over their heads processing morosely to Prime, the office around dawn.

            The weather during my week’s stay was mixed, some glorious days of warm sunshine, some cold and wet.  The Loire Valley was on the divide between the heatwaves of the Mediterranean and the constant procession of Atlantic depressions over the British Isles, the kink in the Jet Stream far overhead.  I was staying with my old school friend and his wife in their holiday home in the valley of the Layon, a tributary of the Loire.  My trip would not be complete without a visit to my favourite winery, Le Domaine du Petit Clocher, where I stocked up on some excellent wines of the region.  I had not been for four years and the increase in price of the wines was noticeable even after the generous discount offered to a regular customer.

            I cannot quite remember when I first met the Denis family that owns the vineyard but it is certainly over ten years ago.  One year I was there for les vendanges, riding a bicycle past a field where grapes were being picked.  I stopped to take a photograph and before I knew what was happening, I had a pair of secateurs and a bucket in hand!  The younger generation have largely taken the reins now almost a hundred years after their grandparents started growing grapes, and have done very well, expanding by buying more land.  They now have 90 hectares of vines and have a fine reputation although, sadly, little of their wine comes to England.

            They are expecting a good year for the Loire vineyards as they have had very little frost or hail damage.  All they need now is plentiful sunshine to ripen the grapes.  It may be a different story further south where the heatwave has been in total control.  When there is hot sunshine and a lack of rain, the sugars in the grapes become more concentrated so, although the final yield may be reduced, the quality may be enhanced.  But when the temperature gets much above 30°C, the vine starts to close its stomata to save moisture. 

Traditionally the irrigation of vines has been banned in France but, such is the impact of climate change bringing heatwave droughts, that derogations are more often granted to save the crop.  Last year, the summer was similar and there were fears for the French wine industry but they proved unfounded so it may be the same this year.  There have been reports of a severe attack of mildew in the Bordeaux region which has devastated the crop and affected 90% of vineyards; a helpline has been launched to provide psychological support to the ‘traumatised’ French winegrowers.  If quality is good but yields much reduced, it may be used as justification to raise the price so that the overall margins are maintained and it is true that wine values have risen significantly in recent years.

We met three of the Denis family on our visit but we were served by a charming young lady who fortunately spoke excellent English.  She explained that the Cremant, both white and rosé sparkling wines, are sent to Saumur where they mature in bottle in the famous caves for one year for the rosé and two for the white.  The caves were created when the tuffeau rock was quarried to build Saumur and the great chateaux of the Loire, a soft limestone the erosion of which is now causing concern for some of the buildings.  The caves, many miles in length, are now used to grown mushrooms and mature the wines of the region.

Usually when I visit this part of France the pastures and verges are brown, dried by the summer sun.  But this year I was surprised by how green the countryside looked even apart from the large areas of vines, maize and sunflowers.  Of course, further south, the heatwave has taken its toll, with numerous wild fires causing immense damage, but France is a large country with widely different landscapes and climates.  I enjoyed my trip to the country and shall cherish the wines I brought back.  Some may argue that English wines are rapidly catching up in quality but they are far more expensive due to the high levels of duty.