A Vineyard in the Dordogne: How an English Family Made Their Dream of Wine and Sunshine Come True

A generation ago, the Ryman family arrived in the Dordogne to follow a dream: to live in France in an elegant chateau and make wine in a vineyard of their own. It didn't take them long to discover and fall in love with Chateau de la Jaubertie, a beautiful 400-year-old country mansion set in the heart of the lush green valley of the Dordogne. Together, the family embarked on a search for a new life a la francaise. But they had not anticipated the steep learning curve required to deal with the local French people and their customs; nor the passions and rifts that were to erupt within the family. In taking a vineyard producing barely drinkable wine, they created the finest wines in Bergerac. However, the search for their dream almost tore them apart, and the family would never be quite the same again.