Bordeaux is one of my favourite places to visit, especially in the autumn during harvest. You generally leave a cold and damp England and arrive in sunny and warm France. This week Bordeaux provided its usual welcome with a pleasant 23˚C and lightly dappled blue sky.

Due to the poor summer the harvest is two weeks later than usual and growers were still picking Merlot in the Medoc with the Cabernets, Franc and Sauvignon, still on the vine. One of the perks of this job is that I can get very close to the winemakers and I took the opportunity to taste the fresh Merlot juice. Modern wineries will usually pick red grapes, gently crush them and then keep the grapes and juice in contact in stainless steel tanks kept below 5˚C to prevent fermentation starting. This allows the colour to be gently extracted from the grape skins without removing the harsh tannin flavour, essentially the difference between making tea gently in a teapot and squeezing the teabag in your cup.

How to describe the taste of a fresh grape juice from the tank? Well you may keep a carton of grape juice in your fridge as a breakfast drink but even the best product bares no resemblance to the enormous depth of flavour and natural freshness you experience. I could have happily sipped, or rather gulped, all day at this wonderful brew, had the winemakers eyebrows not started to raise at my drinking away her future profits!

So my tip for a perfect autumn break in 2009, slip away to Bordeaux, enjoy the weather, view the beautiful city, taste the magnificent wines and beg your way into a winery to gorge on the juice!