juice

The wind whips the grapevines, turning my meditative picking stance into a full-body workout. I firmly plant my legs, stabilising a thrashing branch with my left hand as my right snips off a bunch of grapes. Local people claim the roaring mistral wind makes you crazy, which I can appreciate as each arid gust chaps my lips and desiccates my eyes.

I’m at Domaine Rouge-Bleu, an organic vineyard in the Côtes du Rhône wine region in southern France. I have volunteered for les vendanges, the autumnal grape harvest where backbreaking work is doused in camaraderie.

Participating in this time-honoured tradition had long been a dream of mine, a lifelong Francophile and food writer. So, in 2017, eager to understand more about winemaking beyond the bar stool, I joined a motley crew, trading sore arms and farmer tans for a hands-on course in viticulture and viniculture. I expected to gain an oenological education. I had not anticipated how hard the picking would be – nor how gratifying it felt to accomplish something so big together. Many vendangeurs go back for more. I have returned almost every year since my first harvest, becoming friends with the owners of Domaine Rouge-Bleu.

France is one of the top producers of wine worldwide, pouring 4.78bn litres of wine into the market each year. About 59,000 winemakers manage 789,000 hectares (nearly 2m acres) of vineyards. That’s a lot of grapes to pick. Since the Greeks first planted vines in France in the sixth century BC, raisins (grapes) have been harvested by hand. Machines arrived in the 1960s for speed and cost efficiency. Yet 30%-40% of French wineries still retain the traditional vendanges à la main (hand-picked harvests).

Why would a winemaker opt for a method that costs more time and money? Renowned regions such as Champagne are required to do so to deliver the clusters to the press house intact. Grapevines can grow too close together to allow a machine to pass through. Some winemakers believe machines harm the vines and grapes. “You get better quality by hand since you only pick good grapes, without leaves, vines or oil from the machine,” says Thomas Bertrand, who co-owns Domaine Rouge-Bleu with his Australian partner Caroline Jones.

The hard-working couple illustrate the realities of winemaking that are far from the glamour of Bordeaux chateaux. They bring in volunteers to cut costs. However, harvest volunteers are a legal minefield in France. The government insists winemakers pay harvesters, so some offer room and board in lieu of wages, though many refrain from doing so to avoid any issues. Many winemakers wish volunteers were recognised, for communal harvests have been part of the winemaking heritage for centuries. “Our métier is all about sharing and creating convivial moments,” says France Breton, who welcomes volunteer harvesters at Domaine Breton in the Loire.

For example, Vignerons Indépendants de France runs the Vendangeur d’un Jour (harvester for a day) programme across France from late August to early October. “It is wonderful for wine tourism since so many want to pitch in,” says Jean-Marie Fabre, president of the association. You can also find opportunities on volunteer work sites such as WWOOF. I contacted wineries direct via introductions by my local wine bar, eventually finding Domaine Rouge-Bleu through its former owner, whose wife runs the French Word-A-Day blog.

Domaine Rouge-Bleu is in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, a small town of 2,900 off the tourist track, despite its location in Provence. Fittingly for the town name – vignes are vines – the flat landscape is blanketed with grids of vineyards, with Mont Ventoux, the legendary Tour de France thigh-thumper, looming in the distance. At the end of a picturesque driveway lined with olive trees, a 17th-century farmhouse is home to Thomas, Caroline and their two girls. In harvest season, it swells with vendangeurs. I hit the roommate jackpot with Hannah, a perky Brit who works at a wine shop. Our 16-person team hails from France, the UK, Ireland, Australia and the US, my homeland.

Each morning, the smell of coffee wakes us before 7am. We don clothes that we don’t mind getting dirty – grape juice stains are stubborn. Despite the heat, we wear thick socks under our boots to avoid burs scraping our ankles. Thomas gives us a lay of the land on the first day. The first rule of picking is to be gentle with the grapes. Manhandling them can break their skins prematurely, causing the oxidation that negatively affects aromas and flavours.

We should also watch out for oidium, a chalky mildew, because “crap grapes make for crap wine”, says Thomas. When I find a snail on a grape, he jokes: “That’s why wine isn’t vegan.” (He jokes fluently in English.) Snipping grapes eight hours a day for three weeks wreaks havoc on the hands. Cuts are so prevalent I become the unofficial nurse of the group, carrying plasters in my bumbag. We work in pairs, bookending the vines to ensure no bunch gets left behind. To break up the monotony, conversation inevitably flows, profound at times due to the thick vines that block our faces like confessional screens. Everyone has a story – healing from a breakup or breaking free from a corporate job.

This sociability is an antidote to the demanding work: the constant ache in muscles I never knew I had; the unrelenting sweltering sun and hot wind. My skin and clothes are sticky with sweat, dirt and grape juice, my fingernails permanently painted purple. Yet, knowing our collective efforts will be bottled into delicious wine is incredibly rewarding. “There’s no feeling like people coming together for a shared mission,” says Hannah.

What is surprising to me is that I find solace in the repetition. As a freelancer weighted with managing, and finding, my own work, I appreciate having specific tasks; being told what to do; the simple choreography of snip, haul, repeat. Plus, the monotony is broken up by the varied terrain.

Terroir, the buzzword that rolls off sommeliers’ tongues, refers to the soil, climate and sunlight that give wine grapes their distinctive character. I get a crash course on Rouge-Bleu’s 12 hectares planted with 21 grape varietals. Stooped low like elderly ladies, the 115-year-old grenache gobelet vines are planted in an ancient riverbed of large white stones. While these heat-retaining galets help the grenache reach peak ripeness, their uneven surface is torturous – like trying to balance in a ball pit. The trellised syrah are easier to pick, their extended branches welcoming us with open arms to gather their purple jewels.

Once we fill the trailer – emblazoned with an “In Grenache We Trust” sticker – we head back to the winery. This entails a different workout – manoeuvring hoses and vats, loading the press, shovelling grape bunches into the tank. “We keep their stems to reduce heat buildup during fermentation, which leads to the jammy flavours we don’t want,” says Caroline. I appreciate her red wines even more with this knowledge. My favourite task is climbing into the press to stomp out every last drop of juice.

The drudgery is lessened as we toast the day’s end with craft beers from a friend’s Alpine brewery. “It takes a lot of beer to make good wine,” is a common harvest adage that Thomas repeats. Gathering around the table for meals is a harvest highlight, a much-deserved moment of conviviality that reinforces our team spirit and recharges our batteries. Each night, a different harvester cooks a recipe of their choosing, often calorie-replenishing meals such as lasagne, grilled sausages or chickpea curry. Naturally, the meals are paired with Domaine Rouge-Bleu’s bottles, from its citrusy white Dentelle to the luscious Lunatique that bursts with blackberry notes. The most oenologically curious of us have a vertical tasting for a nightcap – by sampling the same wine from different years, we can taste how age intensifies its flavours.

Just as a fine wine lingers in the mouth, participating in a wine harvest is an enduring experience. A fellow harvester, Oscar, goes so far to say: “It’s about as useful a thing a person could do.” Each time I drink wine, I taste its people, its place, its story. My time among the vines has made me truly appreciate Louis Pasteur’s words: “There is more philosophy in a bottle of wine than in all the books in the world.”

Further information: Domaine Rouge-Bleu; Domaine Breton; Vendangeur d’un Jour; WWOOF

A SHOPPER has sparked a debate among bargain hunters after sharing an incredible yellow sticker haul on social media – and admitting she cleared the shelves of highly reduced items.

The savvy shopper managed to scoop up 51 cartons of fruit juice for less than £4, along with a massive discount on cleaning essentials.

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The post quickly racked up comments after the woman declared: “Yes I cleared the shelves who wouldn’t,” justifying her massive purchase.

The focus of her shopping spree was Morrisons, though she noted the deal might not be nationwide. 

The woman, who shared her impressive savings in the popular Facebook group Extreme Couponing And Bargains UK, basket was full of discounted everyday essentials.

She bought 17 multipacks of juice cartons (4x apple and blackcurrant, 13x orange juice) that were priced at a mere 20p per pack. 

This means she paid just £3.40 for 51 individual juice cartons, a saving of over 90% on the original price.

The money saver also grabbed a huge stock of Dettol cleaning wipes. 

These were marked up at 75p but scanned at an even lower 37p per pack of 70 wipes.

She bought 13 packs, grabbing a year’s worth of cleaning supplies for just £4.81.

But her post soon quickly got a reaction from other money savers. 

Many users congratulated her on the incredible luck, insisting that any serious bargain hunter would do the same but others disagreed. 

“I wouldn’t have cleared the shelf actually,” one wrote.

A second also stated: “It’s lovely to hear of people getting a bargain but when you say…

“I cleared the shelf, surely you didn’t mean that figuratively.

“I mean you did leave some for someone else to ‘get a bargain’?”

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“I’m sorry but I get annoyed when people clear the shelf.

“I just think it’s a great bargain but please be fair to others to have the opportunity to get as well,” a third added.

But someone else said: “Why not, great find. That pack lunches are sorted.”

And another added: “Well done you…I would have as well…always share with relations and friends.” 

A Facebook user also commented: “Well done you, who wouldn’t take the lot I would , to split between my family.” 

UCLA’s defense, the biggest unknown on the team a year ago, is facing even more questions.

A slew of players moved on to the NFL. No full-time starters return. Success will depend on several players with promising pedigrees but limited college production becoming playmakers.

As he stepped off a team bus Wednesday afternoon in Costa Mesa amid the warmest day of training camp, the temperature reaching 82 degrees before warmup stretches, Key Lawrence did not appear to feel any sort of heat, literal or figurative. The transfer safety who has made previous college stops at Tennessee, Oklahoma and Mississippi was humming a tune, savoring every moment of this new opportunity.

A few hours later, after practice concluded, Lawrence teased a reporter about wearing a collared shirt given the temperature, though he said it felt pleasant to him.

“I’m from the South,” said Lawrence, a native of Nashville, “so this, it feels pretty good to me. I loved it, honestly. Everybody else was saying it was pretty hot; I was the one looking at them crazy. This is what I love.”

One of nine transfer defensive backs — including four who have made multiple previous college stops — Lawrence has emerged as an immediate standout for not only his exuberance but also his initiative in pulling everyone together.

Defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe identified Lawrence as a leader on the field and in meeting rooms, saying the redshirt senior was eager to help teammates learn what amounted to a new scheme for almost everyone on the defense. Among the returners, interior defensive linemen Devin Aupiu and Siale Taupaki each started seven games last season. Edge rusher Jacob Busic made five starts. No one else coming back made more than two starts.

But in a sign of improved depth, Aupiu, Taupaki and Busic could come off the bench this season upon the return of defensive tackles Gary Smith III and Keanu Williams from injury and the possible emergence of several edge rushers.

Once rated as the top high school prospect in Tennessee by 247Sports.com, Lawrence has amassed a sporting goods store’s worth of college helmets and jerseys. He played in 10 games as a true freshman at Tennessee in 2020, appearing on special teams and as reserve defensive back.

After transferring to Oklahoma, he posted his best college season as a sophomore, making 47 tackles and forcing three fumbles to become an honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference selection. Two more productive seasons in which he never earned a full-time starting role were followed by a transfer to Ole Miss, where Lawrence played in four games in 2024 before utilizing a redshirt season.

Radiating energy in everything he does, even if it’s just bopping to the 1990s R&B girl group Xscape while getting off the bus, Lawrence appeared eager to make the most of this final college chance.

“If I have some juice and some guys may not some days, especially in camp, why not pour it into somebody else so it can affect myself as well?” he said. “You know what I’m saying? Just fake it ‘til I make it, if anything. But when I get off the bus, I’m just excited to do what I do. I just love what I do, man. I’m just excited.”

The 700 Club

As he recently positioned himself underneath the bar inside UCLA’s weight room, straining under the load of eight massive plates on each side, Smith’s teammates thrust their arms into the air while chanting, “Get it up! Get it up! Get it up!”

The defensive tackle complied, squatting 700 pounds. It was a personal record and the most of any Bruin.

His teammates swarmed him in celebration while flinging fake money into the air. In a possible nod to NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, someone handed Smith a piece of paper with “700” scribbled on it to hold up for a photo.

It was a milestone in the recovery of a player who missed all of last season because of a broken ankle.

“Having the guys there to celebrate that moment with me,” Smith said, “it meant a lot.”

Having dropped 20 pounds from his 6-foot-2 frame as the result of a “clean” diet, leaving him a relatively svelte 315 pounds, Smith said he felt a significant difference.

“I feel lighter on my feet, feel explosive,” he said. “I feel twitchy again, you know, I just feel good.”

Etc.

Malloe said JonJon Vaughns, JuJu Walls, Isaiah Chisom and Donavyn Pellot were the linebackers standing out early in camp. Vaughns could replace the production of star predecessor Carson Schwesinger, Malloe said, as long as he maintained the proper belief and confidence. … A day after they were not spotted participating during the limited media viewing window, offensive linemen Courtland Ford and Reuben Unije practiced as part of the second team. Ford had both hands taped and Unije both elbows taped. The first-team offensive line consisted of tackles Garrett DiGiorgio and K.D. Arnold, center Sam Yoon and guards Julian Armella and Oluwafunto Akinshilo. … UCLA’s move to early afternoon practices this week after exclusively practicing in the mornings, Malloe said, was a schedule change implemented by coach DeShaun Foster to test players’ discipline. … Malloe said Jalen Hargrove, a veteran transfer from Rice who recently signed with UCLA, had joined his new teammates and was rounding into form with conditioning work.