After I finished school and before I started college (and my Halo BB site of course) I decided that a trip to Europe would be exactly what I needed before I settled down to several more years of studying and exams and then of course the lovely world of a 9-5 job. So before reality settled into my life forever I decided that heading away for a few months during my last true summer of youthful freedom would be an excellent idea – regardless of what other people thought. What really surprised me during my travels through France were the number of French vineyards for sale right across the country. I travelled by train a lot and while I was brushing up on my pretty rusty French I noticed that there’s a healthy supply and demand for these in France.

Now buying a French vineyard isn’t cheap and it isn’t straightforward but it is entirely possible. For me it put the thought into my head of an investment that I could seriously consider for later in life, if I came into money, made my fortune or just plain old won the lottery. Like I said vineyards aren’t cheap – most of the entry level ones are several hundred thousand Euros – but they are something that you can plan towards as you get older. Or maybe even split the investment between a few friends and share both the cost and the running of the place and get a holiday home included for the same price?

So that whole idea created the right buzz for my trip because I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer and the idea of owning my own vineyard has appealed to me ever since that European summer. And if you take the time to pay these places a visit I’m sure it’ll appeal to you too.