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W
ander the tranquil rooms inside the ancientstone walls of La Madelène and it’s hard toimagine this elegant space painted in shadesof electric orange,shocking pink and lime green.‘Often all in the same room!’ laughs JudeReddaway, who has lovingly replaced thetechnicolor décor with neutral, soothing shades of cream, beige and stone.It’s two years since the Reddaway family – advertising director Philip,law teacher Jude,and 9- year-old daughter Lily – sold theirVictorian house inbustling Brighton to start a new life in northernProvence.Now home is a former medieval priory just outside Malaucène in the department ofVaucluse, just 15 minutes’drive fromVaison-la-Romaine,apopular tourist town famed for its extensive Romanremains and atmospheric old quarter.Here Philip has fulfilled a long-time ambition toturn his passion for collecting wine into a payingbusiness by launching RhôneWine Holidays andguiding wine buffs round a variety of local
domaines
.Meanwhile,Jude runs the accommodation and
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Living France
NOVEMBER 2009
living
O
france
CAPITAL:
Avignon
REGION:
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
VAUCLUSE (84)
Gillian Thornton
meets theowners of a wine-holidaybusiness, who swapped citylife in Brighton for a twelfth-century priory in Provence
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One wine
A L L P H O T O G R A P H S © G I L L I A N T H O R N T O N
LIVING Wine Tours_216:0xxLIV001OCT09 06/11/2009 10:25 Page 22
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wine holidays
NOVEMBER 2009
Living France
23
Opposite:
The Reddawayshave slowly done up the oldpriory – and learned a lot of new skills in the process
Thispage, from top:
Philip andJude love the new challengestheir move has broughtabout; the Roman remains atVaison-la-Romaine are ontheir doorstep
catering side of the business,as well as providing
chambres d’hôtes
accommodation for holidaymakers.The dream began to take shape several years agowhen Philip reached a turning point in his career.Having reached director level in an advertisingagency,he wasn’t sure he wanted to carry on for another 10 years until retirement.‘I wanted to use some of the skills I had built up,but also take on a new challenge,’he explains from ashady spot beside the swimming pool.Fields and fruittrees stretch in every direction and only the sound of birdsong breaks the silence.‘Jude agreed with me and actually pushed me intoit,which was great because we’re not risk takers bynature.Once we’d made the decision,I spent 3 yearstaking the qualifications with theWine and SpiritEducationTrust,WSET,while carrying on with my job in advertising.’The Reddaways focused their property searcharound the southern Rhône,which offered longhours of Provençal sunshine coupled with some of the best vineyards in France.They’d already madethree fruitless trips to view properties through agentswhen they came across La Madelène on the internet.Formerly owned by a writer,it was habitable if somewhat Bohemian,and needed a lot of work.‘We’d seen so many places that were either tootumbledown or were lovely but not what wewanted,’recalls Jude.‘It was important to havesomewhere we would love,and La Madelène fittedthe bill completely.The oldest part of the house washome to a small band of Benedictine monks in thetwelfth century but it had been extended and used asa farmhouse from the fourteenth century onwards.’
Sale under threat
The purchase seemed to be going well until Philipreceived an unexpected call from his lawyer to saythat the local mayor was threatening to block thesale.Rumour had reached him that Philip planned toimport and sell NewWorld wines,thus threateninglocal producers,but Philip flew out the next day toreassure him and in March 2007,Jude and Lilymoved into their new home,leaving Philip to serveout his notice in London.‘I flew out whenever I could but it was prettyoverwhelming for the girls,’admits Philip.‘Jude and Ihad usable French but Lily was the only Englishpupil out of 220 at the local school.It was reallytough for her at first,because the French system treatsall children equally and makes no concessions toanyone,but 2 years on,she is fluent and has lots of local friends.’When Lily went back to school in September,Philip and Jude began the refurbishment of LaMadelène in earnest,aiming to launch their winetours in May 2008.They had worked onVictorianproperties in England but never attempted anythingso ambitious.Initially they employed an architect who Philipremembers as a‘nice man but fairly clueless when itcame to anything creative’,so they amicably partedcompany.But he did turn out to be right about onething – it would cost twice as much as they expectedto do the work they wanted.The Reddaways decided to tackle a lot of thestructural work themselves to save some money,but
The oldest part of the housewas home to Benedictinemonks but it had been usedas a farmhouse from thefourteenth century onwards
LIVING Wine Tours_216:0xxLIV001OCT09 06/11/2009 10:26 Page 23
were still forced to take out a loan to fulfil their dreams.Jude took a carpentry course,laid decking,tiled bathrooms and discovered a whole range of hidden talents.‘Though I refused to touch electricity or water!’she says firmly.‘It was a very steep learning curvebecause we had to do things quickly,but we justrolled our sleeves up and got on with it,perfectingour skills as we went along.’Their own accommodation is still not finished,but the guest rooms and lounges are all quietlystylish,decorated in natural colours with occasionalsplashes of geranium red.I slept in the gloriouslyatmospheric Chapel Suite,once part of the priory’smain hall and now a spacious bedroom with a highvaulted ceiling,huge white bed,and stylish wet roomwith countryside views.With the guest accommodation complete,Philip’sinitial plan was to offer tours throughout the Rhônevalley, but he soon realised that the distancesinvolved were too great. So,he began to approach
domaines
within an hour’s drive, some small andfamily-owned, others among the showpiecevineyards of the region.‘I wanted
domaines
where the owner or chief winemaker would be able to offer a personal tour,explain the history and philosophy, and host atasting. Some agreed instantly, others weren’tinterested, but now I have around 25
domaines
onthe books, which I visit on a rota.There’s noobligation for tour guests to buy – they can’t if they’ve travelled by train or plane – but many of thewines are available in the UK.’Philip ran his first 3-day tour in May 2008,visiting an average of three
domaines
a day,and so far,a third of his guests have come from Britain,onethird from the States,and the rest are a mix of nationalities,including Australian.He also offers 1-day tours for people holidaying in the area andbespoke tours for corporate guests.In October,hewill be running his first hands-on study tour to givewine students the chance to work on
domaines
during the harvest.
Wine appreciation
One such
domaine
is Domaine Roche-Audran whereVincent Rochette is the third generation of hisfamily to produce AOC Côtes du Rhône.He is,however,the first to make the move to organic andin 2010,will attain biodynamic certification,wherebyall agricultural tasks are carried out in conjunctionwith phases of the moon.The result is healthier vines,a richer environment and completely naturalwines.As we walked round the vineyards,Vincentexplained the fascinating philosophy of biodynamicproduction,while Philip enhanced my experiencewith his own expert comments.Sadly wine tours aren’t practical all year roundand while free time is always welcome for propertymaintenance and forward planning,Philip has found
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Living France
NOVEMBER 2009
www.livingfrance.com
living
O
france
This page, clockwisefrom top left:
The couplenever intended to run a
chambres d’hôtes
but it’snow an integral part of their business; the housewas painted in garish brightcolours before Juderedecorated in soothingneutrals; the propertyneeded a lot of structuraland cosmetic work, muchof which the coupleundertook themselves
Opposite page:
Philipwith Vincent Rochette atthe Domaine Roche-Audran
LIVING Wine Tours_216:0xxLIV001OCT09 06/11/2009 10:26 Page 24
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