Foxeys Hangout: The Story of One Family's Vineyard Dream, by Cathy Gowdie published by Hardie Grant 2009 1st Edition Hardback book with dustjacket in Near Fine condition, inscribed by the author on the first endpaper: "To Judith, Cathy Gowdie".

No other inscriptions, light shelfwear, a few edge wrinkles, very nice signed copy.

"We were not obvious candidates for a sea change. When we talked of moving to the country, friends pointed out that Tony and I were hardly back-to-nature types. ‘Doyou own a single pair of shoes without heels?' asked a friend. But at the end of a bleak winter, we bought an old farmhouse on 10 daffodil-dotted acres at Red Hill and planted a vineyard.'

"Cathy Gowdie had a life plan: have two children in quick succession before the age of thirty, move her parents down to Melbourne for childcare duties, and whip back into the office to resume a successful career. But life had other plans, and when it became clear that she would have to change tack, Cathy and her husband Tony, an aspiring winemaker, packed up and moved to Red Hill, on Victoria's beautiful Mornington Peninsula.

"They knew it would never be easy. Living the dream is somewhat less deluxe than simply dreaming it. Like toddlers and Italian cars, the vineyards required constant vigilance, and Tony and Cathy soon discovered the delights and disasters of daily life on the land: scavenging birds, grape rot, objecting neighbours, late frost, dwindling bank balances, foxes at the window and weeds that fly across the wind to settle in carefully tended vegie patches. Foxey'sHangout chronicles their journey from city dwellers to winery owners, as they familiarise themselves with their new life and the murderous history behind their winery label.

"Illustrated throughout with lush photography and featuring a seasonal recipe for each month, Foxey's Hangout reveals a year in the life of a winemaker, beyond the facade of the cellar door."