Don’t tell me I can’t… make a living from wine
Caro Feely decided to leave her life in the Republic of Ireland to follow her dreamsé
Gazing across the vineyards in France, a glass of wine in hand and the sun setting in front of me, I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m really here. Having uprooted my life in Dublin, I’m happier than ever. and instead of talking to people about computers all day, aged 48, I make my living from one of my favourite things – wine!
Like most couples, my husband Sean and I have always enjoyed a nice glass – sometimes two – of red, white or rosé in the evenings. During our time off from our jobs – mine as an IT consultant and Sean’s as a financial analyst – we’d arrange wine-tasting trips to France with friends. We always looked forward to it.
Then, in 2000, I read an article about why it’s so important to have a five-year plan. Taking on the advice, I got Sean to sit down with me and we each wrote a page about what our ideal life would look like. They were almost identical! We both wanted to move to France and make our own wine.
The more we chatted about what our dream life would be like, the more we began to realise that it didn’t have to just be a dream. We could make it happen. And so we vowed that within five years, we’d be living in France.
Determined to get started, Sean enrolled on a six-month wine course and I signed up for French classes. Every month, we’d look at properties online, but with all the chateaux out of our price range, we kept on saving.
Then, in April 2003, I gave birth to our daughter Sophia, followed by Ellie in February 2005. I was at home on maternity leave five weeks later when I decided to have another look for some places online.
Clicking through lists of homes to buy, I stumbled across a rundown farmhouse in Bergerac, near Bordeaux – it had a 35-acre vineyard and all the winemaking equipment. It needed a lot of work, but at €350,000 – the equivalent of £234,500 at the time – with our savings and the money we’d get from selling our house in Dublin, it would be within our price range. ‘I think this is the one!’ I told Sean that evening. A week later, he was flying over to see the property – and, just like me, he loved it.
Of course, we knew it was a big risk. Our friends thought we were crazy. After all, we were approaching our forties – wasn’t it a little late to be starting a new life?
But Sean and I were determined. So, in August 2005, we packed up our belongings and made the move with Sophia, then two, and Ellie, six months.
At first, we prioritised spending our time renovating the house, so we could rent out the spare rooms as a source of income. And I started writing a book about our move called Grape Expectations. But then came time to get to work on the vineyard.
Although Sean had done a wine course, faced with the reality of farming our very own land, we had no idea where to start. Thankfully, we had some lovely new neighbours, who showed us how to prune and pick the grapes, and how to use the slightly scary looking equipment.
It was hard, but a lot of fun – and taking our first sips of wine the following year, we were so proud. Even the locals seemed to like it, and, as word spread, soon we were selling bottles to restaurants, too.
We’ve since started a website and now we supply wine across the whole of France. We’ve even won awards – which is amazing considering we didn’t know a thing about making wine 12 years ago. And I’ve made sure to document all our experiences by writing three more books. I’m proof that you really can turn your dreams into a reality. ✱ Caro’s book Glass Half Full (£9.99, Summersdale) is out 13 april
‘I signed up for french classes’