Sustainable Vineyard Management

We practice sustainability in our vineyards. This entails monitoring weather conditions, disease pressure and pest warnings before making decisions as to which treatments to apply.

The method is also known as lutte raisonnée. It is essentially good, responsible agricultural husbandry using the safest and most appropriate techniques and products available. It differs from organic or biodynamic methods because it does not rely on the use of established broad-spectrum chemicals like sulphur and copper, which can cause problems when overused.

In common with other Appellation d'Origine Controlée vineyards in France, we do not irrigate and rely on good terroir to provide the vines with the necessary water.

Soil Management

Our soils are poor and stony, which discourage weed-growth but are liable to erosion. Therefore we only perform cultivation (ploughing) at appropriate times and locations. We encourage a variety of wild flora between the rows and mow to keep it under control. 

We don't use chemical fertilizers. We prefer to rely on vineyard waste (prunings, mowings and stems) and organic manures.

Disease Management

We manage our canopy to reduce to conditions which encourage fungal disease. Our dry and windy climate also helps in this respect. 

We monitor the risk of disease using weather data and an understanding of the lifecycle of the major fungal diseases to limit treatment to necessary times and conditions.

We use modern spraying equipment only in still conditions to direct the sprays and minimise drift.

We are careful to alternate products to avoid building up resistance in microbes and insects.

We avoid the use of broad spectrum fungicides and insecticides so that beneficial species are allowed to thrive.

Click here for more information on Sustainable Viticulture.