Organic wine and organic farming
Organic farming
Let's not mix everything up! If the mention " Organic Wine "is subject to some reservation on our part, the same cannot be said of the wines from organic farmingHere's an explanation!
In the 1960s, fertilizer manufacturers launched extraordinary marketing and sales campaigns to promote pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The methods were ingenious, as they promised a guaranteed (or nearly guaranteed) yield with relatively simple treatments. No more plowing and endless passes. Mechanization enabled... vineyards to be treated against aphids, weeds, fungi, etc.
Nowadays, all the populations that cultivate vineyards are aware of the limitations and damage caused by so-called industrial agriculture. Schools and training organizations, chambers of agriculture, professional unions, and other bodies are responsible for informing and educating winegrowers and grape growers to implement methods more in line with ecological principles. This is referred to as...sustainable agriculture ororganic farmingWe all benefit from this development. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides leads to a continuous increase in dosage. The soil becomes saturated with substances that natural runoff can no longer eliminate.
Here again, our discussions in the French vineyard, allow us to affirm that the vast majority of quality wine producers (and in particular of wine for aging) have completed, or at least begun, a conversion! Some regions lend themselves better than others to the application of these methods called Sustainable Agriculture (Terra Vitis Label) Organic Farming (Ecocert label) And Biodynamic Agriculture (Demeter label).
A large part of the vineyards of Champagne, of the Loire, THE Great Châteaux of the Bordeaux Region have switched to organic farming, and for some of them to the biodynamicsThe inevitable contagion is spreading.
In general, the wine producers by practicing a organic farming have seen a noticeable improvement in the quality of their finished product. The tilling and the lines of grass that are growing back between the rows of vines force the roots to delve deeper into the soil. As these roots penetrate deeper, they seek out the best nutrients in the subsoil and enrich the fruit with concentrated nutrients. Ladybugs and butterflies have returned and are busy eliminating aphids and other living things harmful to the vines… Life has returned and the wine is better – it is once again becoming an even more authentic reflection of the subsoil and the… terroir.
Even better, the soils are more aerated and retain more water or moisture. The soils are better protected from the water stresses that climate change will bring.
Last, but not least, alternative fertilizers cost less than chemical fertilizers. However, when it comes to an economic assessment, caution is advised. Implementing "ecological" agriculture often requires a more significant presence in the vine and higher labor costs.
>> Discover the special range organic wine on Cavissima