Ange and I, our dogs and cats, live in the Corbieres, in the village of Moux. The village of 700 people nestles at the foot of Mont Alaric, surrounded by vineyards in every direction. 10th January marks the beginning of our 3rd year in Moux, so it’s fitting to start this monthly diary of life among the vines now.

Every morning I walk the dogs, Manon and Polly, for an hour or two, clocking up 7 or more kilometres around the village. We walk in our valley; beside the autoroute, or over the ridge into the valley beneath Mont Alaric, sometimes up into the mountain and its twin peak; the rock gris. The landscape is covered in forest, vines and history. We share the territory with hunters and with the wine workers.

During the winter, after the end of the wine harvest, there are still jobs to do amongst the vines. The primary job is pruning, cutting to the second leaf bud. Many growers have already done the job, starting as soon the leaves have fallen and the sap recedes, but many still brave the elements to prune their vines in the cold, high winds and even rain. This January seems harsher than the last two, which I remember as being cold but with blue skies, sun, little wind, and not much rain. Last year the heavy rain came in March.

Chateau la Baronne sits in the middle of the valley beyond the ridge, directly between Mont Alaric, and the village of Fontcouverte. They’re probably the biggest wine grower based in the village; owned by the Doctor with its chai situated opposite his surgery. One morning I saw a team of nine in the lee of the mountain, taking a row each and moving steadily, pruning the vines.

Our other neighbours amongst the vineyards are the hunters. Every day we might see a solitary hunter, dressed in green, sometimes with dogs, on the lookout for rabbits, pheasants. But on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays the official hunt is out, in big groups all togged up in hi-vis orange, also with hunting dogs, so we try to avoid them and keep to paths closer to home. Every day I wear a Decathlon orange jacket, the dogs wear coats of the same colour, as well as their bells; a high tone for Polly, a lower tone for Manon. Our aim is to be seen and heard first; Defence de chasse.

Last Sunday, as we walked the eastern end of the Moux valley, I saw three hunters in orange, up on the col du Fourty, the other side of the autoroute; two were in the elevated lookout seats, while the third, was flushing out the wild boar with dogs. I heard the shots before I saw them. We stayed our side of the ridge.

On our walks, we see trails of boar and deer, even if we rarely see the owners of the hoofprints. The dogs hunt moles, digging at their hills like fury, but with rare success, sometimes chasing mice, sometimes pheasant.

 

In the diary, I’m going to showcase one of the Winemakers of the region. This month, Chateau La Baronne.

 

 

http://www.chateaulabaronne.com/