The Vine Garden: A search for home in the gardens and vineyards of France

(Paperback)

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Description

What happens when you relocate to the perfect house, in the perfect village in Provence, and nearly ten years later the shine has gone Garden designer Alex Dingwall-Main is facing cultural brick walls, neighbourly warfare and non-paying business cllents. He and his family are thinking of packing their bags and their pets and of starting all over again, back in England. The final straw comes when a well-known restaurateur cannot pay his [pound]10,000 bill. Instead he pays Alex in 12 bottles of exquisite French wine. One dark and somewhat drunken night, Alex decides to give it one more go - to travel and find the France he fell in love with. With a hangover and an uncertain heart, Dingwall-Main sets off on a pilgrimage to the spiritual core of his adopted land - to the chateaux and vineyards of France. The people, the gardens, the wine and the landscapes that he encounters make for an adventurous and beautiful summer. But an unexpected one - stereotypes, assumptions and idylls are uncovered. Alex's relationship with his adopted homeland is revolutionised into a much more dangerous and intimate affair. Whether he stays or goes is another matter...

Reviews

Well worth knocking back this summer * A Place in the Sun's everything France Magazine *

Author Bio

Alex Dingwall-Main was born in Scotland and became a gardener after leaving school. He lives and works in the Luberon region of the South of France, where he runs a landscape design practice and a demanding garden of his own.