The ripening sun

As you can see, these are looking much healthier than our vines. It's a good thing there are different varieties of grape because conditions that don't suit some work well for others. Grenache in general has suffered, but the mourvèdre and syrah are looking OK.

They're not anywhere near ripe yet though. Even the early varieties of white grapes haven't yet been harvested -- it's normally done in the last few days of August, but this year everything is going to be at least a fortnight late. The primeur (new wine) is always released on the third Thursday in October. Sometimes the timetable is pretty tight, but it seems inconceivable that it can be ready by 17 October this year. Still, the weather is dry and windy, with cool nights, which is good, keeping mildew at bay. My last swim this morning was positively chilly.

So today I had yet another attempt at sourdough bread. I have happily made muffins, pizza/focaccia, and scones with it, but a simple loaf is still eluding me. The crust was good, it tasted good, but the loaves just spread out in the oven instead of springing upwards. I think it must be the French flour ... notes have been made, and the recipe will be adjusted next time, with a lot less water. I watched the Great British Bake Off on iPlayer while I waited for it to rise. I half hoped to pick up some tips, but I don't think I'll be trying any of their wacky ideas with bread. Especially not the chicken tikka, apricot and white chocolate loaf.