Andrew Jefford

Aremarkable photograph: a soil pit dug into a vineyard, perhaps 1.5 metres deep, with about 70cm of rich, mixed topsoil, uncompacted but lively with organic matter. Then – clay. Solid clay. The pit had obviously been open for a while, and the vines above were in summer garb – hence the cracks in the clay, ‘big enough,’ said the photographer, ‘to put your hand in.’