Imagine leaving your comfortable life in middle England for a land of glorious hot summers, romantic scenery and exquisite cuisine, to live off the fruits of your own labour on a vineyard in south-west France. If it sounds too idyllic to be true, it probably is! In July 1986, Nigel Reay-Jones and his wife Georgea sold their house in the Cotswolds and moved, with their five small children, to Château de Commarque, a dilapidated medieval fortified farm-turned hotel-restaurant in the tiny commune of Sauternes, near Bordeaux, with a small vineyard attached in even worse condition than the house. The Vineyard Venture is the story of the Reay-Joneses' wonderfully bold endeavour to make their dream a reality. From natural disasters and baffling bureaucracy to crumbling medieval walls and hypochondriac chefs, there was plenty sent their way to derail it. But time and again, the Reay-Joneses proved they were made of sterner stuff. This book, a brilliantly entertaining account written after a decade of laughter, adventure and, without hyperbole, momentous struggle, is a tale for winelovers, Francophiles and dreamers. It is the story of a life lived off the beaten path down a bumpy track and at the end of a narrow lane in one of Bordeaux's smallest and most revered wine-producing areas. AUTHOR: Born in London in 1947, Nigel Reay-Jones studied zoology and entomology at Oxford. He was also a classical guitarist and met his wife Georgea at the Oxford Classical Guitar Society. Amongst his many interests, Nigel was a Francophile and was passionate about wine and winemaking. In 1986 Nigel and Georgea fulfilled their dream of moving from the Cotswolds to a chateau in the Bordeaux region of France, where they made Sauternes sweet white wine, ran a hotel and restaurant and raised their five children. 16 colour illustrations