Vendange is the French word for harvesting wine - these short stories are 'grape-pickers stories. Very few people are fortunate enough to be mentored in fine wine. I was lucky and the instruction I received over many French lunches and dinners opened my eyes to the complexities of fine wine and how the choice of the right wine for a particular dish elevates the experience from mere grazing to hedonistic delights. I wanted to learn more about wine and decided to go and make the vendange in what is arguably one of the finest areas of wine in the world - the Haut Medoc - north of Bordeaux. What...