Domaine de Nerige

The vineyard at Domaine de Nerige, St. Martin de Villereglan
David & Sandie Apthorp - 2006

In mid 2002 we started looking for a house in the Aude region because we loved the climate, the views, the people and the easy access from London to Carcassonne.

Having looked at all sorts of properties, from town houses to farm houses, we eventually saw a derelict house with 8 hectares of land. We loved the house and the land was a bonus. In November 2003 we completed the purchase after no end of serious difficulties.

Many people assume that if you have arable land, you can plant what you like on it. This is mostly true, but not so with vines. You need the “rights to plant”. Our rights extended to 2.5 hectares.

At the outset we did not think too seriously about vines. Our fields looked dreadful with vines which probably had not been pruned for 7 years or more.

When the spring came, we saw how beautiful the area became with their vines sprouting green leaves. Ours did nothing! We realised that vines would enhance the appearance of our property and so began to take an interest in what was involved.

We brought local experts on site. Our current vines were condemned. They took soil samples and analysed our position, slope, drainage and numerous other factors. Their advice was to clear our vines with a bulldozer and then to prepare the land for planting the following year – 2005. They suggested Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc as varietals.
 

We engaged a local farmer to clear the land and to begin the process for planting. The local authorities supervised the digging up of the vines and gave us a certificate confirming this and that we still had the rights to re-plant in the future.

It was explained to us that EU Agricultural grants were available to assist farmers with planting. I became registered as a French farmer, which was quite exciting. Me, a farmer? We discovered that the size of the grant depends upon how you process your grapes. If you process the grapes yourself, the grant is very low, whereas if you send them to the local Co-op, the grant is high.

After much consultation with many different people, including a director of Cave du Razes, our local Co-op, we agreed to go for the maximum grant for our top field of 1.8 hectares. We found a local farmer who was willing to work our field on an hourly basis. As we did not own a tractor and certainly did not have the required expertise, there was absolutely no point in trying to do this ourselves. Our advice would be to seek expert opinion from the local viticulture office. Generally, the personnel in these offices are incredibly helpful, and of course knowledgeable and are happy to offer advice and guidance.

In May 2005 we planted 6,606 vines – yes we did count them!! The vine supplier arranged the planting in the straightest rows you have ever seen. Two days later the vines had to be watered. EACH plant had to be given approximately 2 litres of water. I was assisting the farmer with this, yet it still took us 14 hours to complete. Being in the field for a day, I learnt so much.

During the year there was much to do in the field and our farmer friend seemed to be constantly working our vineyard.

This year we planted our second field to make full use of our rights.
 

Growing vines to produce wine is a seriously labour intensive occupation. Just how farmers make a living is the subject of much debate. We are not experienced enough to know the answers, but we can see the amount of investment required and it is substantial.

My neighbour tells me we will never make money from our fields, and he is probably right. Nevertheless, it is already a great experience and we have achieved our first objective, as our property looks stunning with a lovely green vineyard alongside the driveway. Hopefully we will produce high quality grapes; without doubt we will have fun drinking our wine. The Merlot will be sent to the Co-op, but the Sauvignon Blanc will be processed by our neighbour, so we can bottle it as we see fit !!