Meet Amy Lillard and Matthew

• Amy and Matthew, who met in their local wine store in San Fransico, upped sticks and left the USA to pursue their passion of running a vineyard in France
• Based in Castillon du Gard in the Rhône, their 4.5 hectares of land has come up trumps
• Since setting up shop in 2005, they've created elegant, delicate and classic Cote Du Rhône wines that we think you'll love

Amy and Matthew's Story

"Matthew and I met at our local wine store in the States. He was a customer I had my eye on - and when the opportunity came up to deliver some wine to his house, I took my chance!

A case of wine led to marriage - and since then, wine has always formed a big part of our relationship!

I worked for an importer for several years in the States, but it wasn't really me. So when I proposed we had a stab at living the dream and moving to France to create our own wine, it didn't take too long to persuade Matthew.

After living in Paris for a couple of years, we bought 4.5 hectares of land in Castillon du Gard in the Rhône in 2005 and worked on our first vintage.

We're not rigid in our winemaking, we work with what each vintage and nature brings, and have created blends as well as single varietal wines.

We farm organically, to be certified later on in 2010, and all the labeling we do is eco-friendly too (we've just employed an eco printer). So we're a green bunch.

Matthew works at Cisco during the day - but his heart and evenings are spent in the vineyard, working his socks off.

It's just Matthew and I, we don't employ anyone. So we rely on friends and family to join in and help during harvest.

I hope you enjoy our wines - we had a lot of fun (tears and late nights) making them. Please let us know what you think."