{"product_id":"vineyard-venture","title":"Vineyard Venture","description":"Imagine leaving your comfortable life in middle England for a land of glorious hot summers, romantic scenery and exquisite cuisine, to live off the fruits of your own labour on a vineyard in south-west France. If it sounds too idyllic to be true, it probably is!In July 1986, Nigel Reay-Jones and his wife Georgea sold their house in the Cotswolds and moved, with their five small children, to Château de Commarque, a dilapidated medieval fortified farm-turned hotel-restaurant in the tiny commune of Sauternes, near Bordeaux, with a small vineyard attached in even worse condition than the house.The Vineyard Venture is the story of the Reay-Joneses'' wonderfully bold endeavour to make their dream a reality. From natural disasters and baffling bureaucracy to crumbling medieval walls and hypochondriac chefs, there was plenty sent their way to derail it. But time and again, the Reay-Joneses proved they were made of sterner stuff. This book, a brilliantly entertaining account written after a decade of laughter, adventure and, without hyperbole, momentous struggle, is a tale for winelovers, Francophiles and dreamers. It is the story of a life lived off the beaten path… down a bumpy track and at the end of a narrow lane in one of Bordeaux’s smallest and most revered wine-producing areas.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483545510261,"sku":"9781036186715","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781036186715.jpg?v=1786178723","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/vineyard-venture","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}