Virgile's Vineyard: A Year in the Languedoc Wine Country (Paperback)

~ Patrick Moon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A delightful journal of calamity and discovery.” -- Good Book Guide

Product Description

Among the rich cast of characters he meets during his year of exploration is Virgile, a young local wine-maker who offers to initiate Patrick into the mysteries of each season's work in the fields and in the cellar. Virgile is passionately committed to perfection, though he operates on a shoestring. At the other extreme is Manu, Patrick's dipsomaniac neighbour, a diehard traditionalist producing a private wine-lake of unspeakable rouge. With Manu as his self-appointed guide, Patrick embarks on a tour of the region's wine makers -- a succession of lively encounters with growers as varied as the wines themselves. Interwoven are digressions into the history of the region and its wine-making, from the earliest plantings by the Greeks and Romans. Meanwhile, the author struggles to deal with his dilapidated inheritance -- an unfamiliar and unpredictable world where the brambles have grown as tall as the olive trees, the water supply has just dried up and there is a ferocious animal under the roof tiles.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: John Murray Publishers (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0719565170
• ISBN-13: 978-0719565175
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #508,702 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Great, June 17, 2004

By	C. M. Ayers "Kate Ayers" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With Bill Bryson-like humor, Patrick Moon intertwines winemaking and history with a rollicking good tale. If you're lucky enough to visit this fabulous wine-producing area of France, Virgile's Vineyard will be even more entertaining. There is a not-so-subtle undercurrent of travel guide to this superbly fun story. Spanning one year, it takes the reader through the winter Mediterranean storms, the summer heat of the South, the drenching rains of spring and the laid-back feel of the area when out of the tourist high season. Moon explores the dubious friendship of his neighbor prone to blatant crop filching, but also a master wine taster in constant search of good free samples. There is a dialogue of local repartee, a love interest (solely, on her side, it seems) who is bent on educating Patrick about the area's past, along with some characters who duck in and out as the story unfolds. If you have any interest in wine or the Languedoc region of France, you really shouldn't miss this book.

2.0 out of 5 stars Just Average, August 1, 2009

By	John J. Bilchak III - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book a little tough going, and really not that funny. It was not nearly as good as "A year in Provence". The charachters are shallow and
predictable, and the book is monotonous.