Grape expectations

In 2000, they bought Chateau Camplazens, in the Languedoc region of south-east France and ever since, have spent their days in blissful solitude, surrounded by nature at its most resplendent. Holed up in their mountainside retreat, with nothing to disturb their peace, they live a simple, rural life in a house typical of the area - its lack of grandeur more than made up for by its setting. Surrounding it are what are far more important, row upon row of precious green vines - Susan and Peter's livelihood.

It's all a far cry from where they both grew up, in the less than idyllic surroundings of Stockton. Peter, 59, a former head boy of Stockton Grammar School, began his working life as a chemical engineer. After 12 years' travelling in the service of oil giant Exxon, he and two colleagues set up their own company, KBC Advanced Technologies. Four years later, it was decided that one of the engineers should go to America to set up an office there. Seeing a new opportunity, Peter volunteered and moved with his wife and children, then aged four, six and eight, to New Orleans.

"We went for two years and stayed for 20," says Susan, talking to me at her mother's house, in Hartburn. "After ten years, the business was successful and we could have gone back but we put it to the family and they wanted to stay."

The next major crossroads was in 1998, when the firm was floated on the stock market. Peter decided to retire - but this was to be short-lived. "He tried to be retired but he didn't like it so we went and looked for a new challenge in our lives. We decided that buying a vineyard would be a very good idea," says Susan, 55.

Peter comes from a farming background and both he and Susan are ardent wine lovers, so they felt that this could be their ideal venture. But finding the right area to invest in wasn't easy.

"We looked in Spain and Mexico. We have a Mardi Gras in New Orleans and there was a pianist in the French quarter. I went up to him and said, 'If you were going to buy a vineyard in France, where would you buy one?' Straight away he said Languedoc in Roussillon because it was the most exciting and up-and-coming area of France," says Susan.

Although they had already visited the area, without success, the couple returned with new enthusiasm. They found their ideal vineyard by pure chance. "We looked for about two months then one day, we were driving over a mountain and we said, 'Wouldn't it be nice to have a vineyard just here?' The next day, one came on the market. We went and looked at it and fell in love," says Susan.

The area they had stumbled upon was La Clape, a limestone outcrop between the ancient town of Narbonne and the Mediterranean. Planted on the site of an old Roman settlement, the vineyard of Chateau Camplazens was surrounded by richly scented moorland and cooled by balmy sea breezes - perfect for producing wine.

"It was just beautiful," says Susan. "The vineyard had been owned by a Frenchman for 35 years."

After gaining expert approval the Closes bought it, embarking on a steep learning curve. "We learned very quickly," says Susan, who admits they knew little about winemaking. "We just put our whole selves into it."

They were helped by knowledgeable and hard-working staff, who keep the vineyard running efficiently.

Susan says it took time to adapt to the local customs. "It's very old-fashioned - they go by the moon. We start the harvest on September 21 and we start the pruning on November 15. There's a lot of tradition in winemaking. It's a very romantic concept."

The couple quickly realised that to make the most of Chateau Camplazens, modernisation was required. "We needed to do a lot of work. We started by planting six hectares of Syrah and Grenache grapes and we put in a new Cave (where the wine is made). It took about a year and it was quite a big investment," says Susan.

Since taking over, the Closes have increased the vineyard's size from 42 to 90 acres. Already, their gamble is paying off. "We've had four harvests and each year, the wine is getting better and better," says Susan.

Being foreign and inexperienced, and introducing such drastic change, the locals might have resented them, but Susan says the opposite has been true. "They have been very welcoming because we are investing in the area and they like that. We have hunting rights and we were told from the beginning that if you keep the hunters happy, you'll be all right. They hunt on our land four times a year and present us with a wild boar for the freezer."

As the business has developed, it has become a family affair, with the three Close children, who still live in America, gradually coming on board. Businesswoman Sarah, 29, was the first to spot her opportunity, setting up the importing company Merlin Wines. Her sister Joanne, 27, was next, leaving her Manhattan art gallery to become brand manager, and finally Christopher, 25, joined as a salesman. Joanne, the "intelligent one with the wine" is even doing a diploma, aiming to be acknowledged world-wide for her expertise as a so-called master of wine.

In the meantime, the family is concentrating on promoting Chateau Camplazens. "In America, we've got ten states distributing our wines," says Susan, although she admits that as a small producer competing with huge corporate brands, it isn't easy.

One thing they're keen to do is get their wines on British shelves - part of the reason for Susan's visit home. Already, they are distributed throughout the North-East by the Thirsk-based company Playford Ross. "They took us on because they love the wines but also because they liked our story and the fact that we're from here," Susan explains.

With Yan, their brilliant young winemaker at the helm, there are many new projects in the pipeline, including working with France's national wine research centre on a new grape, Marsalan, a cross between Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. "We are trying all kinds of different experiments. We're quite cutting edge," says Susan.

In winemaking circles at least, the name of Chateau Camplazens is becoming known. It's beginning to attract awards, including a gold medal at the International Wine Challenge, and even has a room at Liverpool's Hope Street Hotel named after it. Such is the vineyard's reputation that again this year, it has been invited to take part in the Vive La France exhibition at London's Olympia, from January 21-23.

When asked what else the future holds, Susan can only shrug her shoulders and smile. "We are all growing with the vineyard," she says.

l Wine can be ordered from the website at www.camplazens.com