‘Sweat, dirt and grape juice – it’s incredibly rewarding’: volunteer harvesting on a vineyard in France

<p>Grape picking in the Côtes du Rhône wine region is hard physical work, but it’s steeped in camaraderie – which is why so many<em> </em>return every autumn to help out</p><p>The wind whips the grapevines, turning my meditative picking stance into a full-body workout. I firmly plant my legs, stabilising a thrashing branch with my left hand as my right snips off a bunch of grapes. Local people claim the roaring mistral wind makes you crazy, which I can appreciate as each arid gust chaps my lips and desiccates my eyes.</p><p>I’m at <a href="https://rouge-bleu.com/about-us/">Domaine Rouge-Bleu</a>, an organic vineyard in the Côtes du Rhône wine region in southern France. I have volunteered for <em>les vendanges</em>, the autumnal grape harvest where backbreaking work is doused in camaraderie.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/oct/08/volunteer-grape-harvesting-vineyard-rhone-region-france-wine">Continue reading...</a>