James moved to Provence near Avignon after nearly 20 years in Tokyo where he ran a small wine import business specialising in artisanal, traditional and natural wines from southern France and Catalonia.

With Heliocentric, James makes wines which are richly flavoured and terroir driven but with an atypical freshness, purity of fruit and lightness of touch.

James’s background includes a WSET Diploma gained in his native London.

Childhood camping holidays in Provence had left a longing to return to the sights and sounds and aromas of the landscape.

In addition to making Heliocentric wines, he continues to work with an inspiring range of producers from France, Spain and Germany – see winegoeseast.com.

Winemaking

James makes the wines with a local producer in the Ventoux near Beaumes de Venise, with whom he’s worked since 2010.

The terroir gives what we’re looking for: natural freshness and purity of fruit.

The work in the vines is more about sustainability than being certified organic. Certified often means a lot of sulphur and copper on plant and soil, plus ploughing, and thus tractor use, and thus CO2 emissions.

In the cellar the work is simply to express the terroir with minimal intervention and no additives or preservatives other than light doses of sulfur.

Lifestyle

Terroir is not just soil, grape and climate – it’s lifestyle, culture, and history. Wine is the gateway.

“I’m passionate about living simply, eating and drinking locally and/or organically, from small producers, farmers’ markets, artisan butchers and fish shops, as well as supporting organic and local stores for home and personal products.” — James

Music

Wine and music is our recipe for health and happiness.

Everyday, we listen and explore music of all genres, going on deep dives of favourites and new discoveries of old music, particularly from the 1950’s to 1970’s, often overlooked at the time of its making.

Heliocentric is the name of a favourite album by Paul Weller from 2000. It was arranged by Robert Kirby, who was Nick Drake’s collaborator in the early ’70’s.

Same River Twice, old music keeps revealing new experiences.