After an introduction on the last blog post, let’s look in more detail at some of the sustainable labels and certifications used in Bordeaux. The key advantage of certification is accountability, introducing measurable goals that are regularly and independently controlled. 

Is organic sustainable? 

Sustainable is not the same as organic. In sustainable certifications certain synthetic chemical inputs are permitted, albeit in a controlled, limited and measurable way. Most of these inputs are banned in organic certifications. Proponents of sustainable certifications would argue that they go beyond controlling chemical inputs, covering a broader definition of sustainability.

What chemicals and why? 

In viticulture, synthetic chemicals can be used as herbicides, insecticides, fertilisers or fungicides. In Bordeaux’s damp climate, fungicides are of particular importance; where the traditional Bordeaux mixture of copper and sulphur dominates, also allowed in organic agriculture. 

Ahead of the curve

The use of any chemical inputs is strictly controlled by law, regardless of certification. Year after year these laws are becoming stricter and the list of approved products shorter.  A desire to get ahead of encroaching legislation, to find other solutions to their problems before the law steps in, is anotherpowerful motivation to become more sustainable.

Agro écologie.

The agro-ecology movement is larger than eliminating or reducing chemical inputs, it includes the cellar as well as the vineyard and goes as far as packaging and transport. It covers everything from biodiversity, composting, reducing carbon footprints, (tractor use, inputs, packaging) waste and water management. 

Many of these initiatives also have the desired effect of reducing chemical inputs. 

What else? 

Concretely, what can producers do to replace, or at least reduce, these chemical inputs without risking losing their crop? 

Ploughing and tillage is a mechanical option to replace herbicides for weed control. Planting cover crops and mowing between rows also encourages biodiversity and decreases unwanted species like couch grass. Using sexual confusion (pheromones that confuse vine moths) is standard practise in Bordeaux instead of insecticides.

Biodiversity creates habitats for natural insect predators, reducing the use of insecticides. Vineyards are encouraging biodiversity by planting hedgerows and trees, by leaving the edges of vineyards and verges unmowed in the spring, by installing insect hotels, bat and bird boxes, etc.

Composting and ploughing in nitrogen rich cover crops reduces the  need for fertiliser,  improving soil nutrients and organic matter, and guess what, biodiversity. This might explain the popularity of photos of lady birds in images on a lot of chateau and certification websites.

Weather stations. 

Odd robot-looking structures are now commonplace amongst the vines. These weather stations, usually linked via the internet, allow continuous monitoring of the weather, temperature, humidity, sunlight and wind. This is important feedback for how and when to treat vines for the pervasive fungal diseases. Thanks to precise modelling of diseases, treatments are only applied when and if they are needed, rather than the blanket treatments of the past. Even when I first arrived in Bordeaux in the late 80s, it wasn’t unusual to see bright blue vines where farmers had gone through with copper sprays. 

This precision viticulture means less inputs but also less man and tractor hours, reducing carbon footprint and cost.

Water into wine

Although Bordeaux is dry farmed (after the first three years of planting), a lot of water is used in the cellar. There are strict legal obligations around waste water treatment for all producers, with sustainable certifications being stricter. Properties I spoke to under sustainable certification reported considerable and measurable reduction in water use. 

Three leading sustainable certifications

ISO (International Organisation of Standardisation) is the largest international and cross-industry independent certification system. ISO standards cover different management systems, from ISO 9001 for quality control to ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety. 

ISO 14001 is an environmental management system (EMS). Created in 1996, it is not limited to agriculture. It aims to assess, evaluate and then reduce the impact on the environment of every part of the activity of the company, to improve environmental performance, efficient use of resources and reduction of waste. 

Once targets are identified, emphasis is on continual improvement with a system of checks and balances to keep on target and improve. it is the process that is certified, not the product. There is no label or logo that can be added to a product, but qualified companies can include it on their web site. This explains why the certification is known (and well respected) within the industry but not by consumers. It can be a criteria of selection or elimination of suppliers by companies who are prioritising sustainability.

In 2020, 231 Bordeaux wine companies (including négociants) were certified covering 11,800 ha. 

A short history of Government intervention (with acronyms)

The agro-ecology movement has been championed by the French Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry (love how the French put food first). It’s not new.

In 2002, a partnership was created with the Conseil Regional d’Aquitaine  (Regional Council) and the regional  branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, DRAAF (Direction Regional de l’Alimentation de l’Agriculture et de la Foret) to look at sustainable agriculture. 

In 2007, the ‘Grenelle de l’Environnement’, a multi-party round table of national and local government and other organisations was held to create public policy on ecological sustainable development. It covered biodiversity, natural resources, climate change and sustainability, not only in agriculture but also housing and transport (more TGVs). 

In Agriculture their objective was to triple the share of organic farming, halve the use of pesticides, and to create a “green grid” linking natural areas, controlling GM products, carbon footprints and more. 

In 2011, La Commission Nationale de Certification Environnementale (CNCE), was created as a joint venture between government, farmers unions, environmental associations, the agri-food industry and consumer organisations. By some kind of miracle, they agreed on an official three level certification programme.  

HVE 

In 2012 they launched HVE, Haute Valeur Environnementale, with a France wide objective of 50,000 certified farms by 2030 across all types of agriculture. Powered by the government nationally and regionally, it is bureaucratic but reliable and taken seriously.

The aims are wide ranging, to save resources and nature, increase the value of output, reduce energy consumption and chemical inputs, all by identifying and promoting environmentally-friendly practices in four key areas: 

– biodiversity 

– conservation, 

– plant protection, 

– fertilizer and water management.

The certification is a three-level process, where only the third and final level is considered the certification. 

– Level 1 : the application of environmental rules 

– Level 2 : adoption of techniques to reduce environmental impact 

– Level 3 : the measurement of the environmental impact on biodiversity and   reduced levels of inputs. 

Certified properties are independently audited every 18 months, covering all operations across the whole farm, measuring results on biodiversity, phytosanitary strategy, fertilizer and water management. 

Aquitaine has the highest level of certified properties. In 2020, of nearly 6,000 Bordeaux properties, 2200 were certified HVE, more than any other French wine region. As of July 2021, 19,216 agricultural enterprises (not just vines) were certified in Nouvelle Aquitaine.

AREA (Agriculture Respectueuse de l’Environnement en Aquitaine) was created in 2018. An association of professional organisations, it partners with farms (including vineyards and regional agricultural schools) and has invested over 10M€ a year to help with the certification, including tax breaks.

Although popular for Bordeaux vineyards, with the HVE logo found on back labels and chateau websites, most consumers have never heard of it. In a recent study, only 5% recognised the label on a wine bottle whereas 75% recognised an organic label. There’s marketing work to be done.

HVE and ISO, not mutually exclusive.  

Many properties have both of these certifications. The rigour of ISO and the emphasis of involving the whole vineyard team is complementary when it comes to HVE certification.

In the vineyard 

Chateau Lestrille in Entre deux Mers is certified  HVE and ISO 14001. A family property in the Entre deux Mers, it is under the  management of Estelle Roumage, a third-generation owner-wine maker. Farmed sustainably since the 1980s, the property started certification with an SME (Système de Management Environnemental, see previous post) run by the CIVB (Bordeaux Wine Council).

The resulting ISO 14001 certification is a collective certification alongside the other participants of the SME. 

Estelle loved this collective approach to certification. The different profiles of wine makers, from individual family properties, to large properties, cooperatives  and even négociants, came together to explore the process. 

The ISO 14001 certification was a 3-year process of building a community, working towards a group certification, learning from each other, sharing the same, or similar, problems and challenges, finding collective solutions and sharing the costs of certification. 

HVE has helped Estelle to federate the whole team behind the project of reducing chemicals and waste and evaluating their environmental impact from one year to the next. It also helped to bring on board partners, suppliers, distributers, clients and consumers.

Lestrille then entered into the HVE certification, another 3-year process; again, via the support of the SME system. The HVE certification is individual, specifically for Château Lestrille. Now, with HVE under her belt she is in the process of conversion to organic agriculture.  

Her passion for the environment shows in her new labels and a project she has launched with environmental NGO HISA. Together they have planted a Miyawaki micro forest to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the property. Within three years it will be an integral part of a vineyard nature trail, which should be when they obtain organic certification. Gotta love it when a plan comes together.

Château Loudenne 

Philippe de Poyferré, director of Chateau Loudenne in the Medoc told me supermarket chains are now asking for HVE certification as French consumers start looking for environmental credentials on their bottles. Loudenne is certified HVE through the CIVB EMS since 2017, and are in the process of ISO 14001, asking their suppliers for this same certification. 

They produce a range of organic wines, red, white and rosé, appellation Bordeaux, under the label Loudenne, Les Jardins working with local organic producers. 

His philosophy reflects that of most of the wine makers I speak to: motivated to protect the natural environment in which they are lucky enough to work,  through attention to detail, by not removing more than nature can give. Perhaps most importantly, he remains convinced that these initiatives produce better fruit and hence better wines and will ensure the future of the property.

TERRA VITIS

TERRA VITIS is a federation of French winegrowers with almost 2000 members covering 35,000 ha, about 5% of the French vineyard.

In 2021, there were 323 members in Bordeaux covering over 11,000 ha, approx. 10% of Bordeaux vineyards. Members are diverse, from coops, family properties and larger classified growths. 

This certification is uniquely for viticulture. They aim for an integrated form of production, a middle way between organic and traditional agriculture. Synthetic products are allowed but in very controlled amounts and under certain conditions. The winemaker has an obligation to optimise their use of natural resources, with a reasonable ‘raisonné’ approach to the use of selected phytosanitary or chemical products only as a last resort. Terra Vitis rules are updated annually and constantly controlled, with the aim of respecting the land, the vines and the people that work them.

Independence 

Terra Vitis is an independent certification, not implemented, controlled or financed by the ministry of agriculture, it is financed uniquely by the membership. Audits are carried out by OCCASIA, an independent organisation ensuring each property adheres to the specifications. 

Tech spec 

The technical specification applies not only to the vines, but to the whole property. It covers over 80 points including the safety of employees and the treatment of waste from burning vine clippings to recycling oil from tractors and wastewater management.

There is no list of permitted or banned products, outside of legal national guidelines, but there is the obligation to justify their use. The Terra Vitis audit controls when, where, why and what was used. Zone by zone and plot by plot, treatment must be indispensable and necessary. No blanket preventative treatment is permitted.

Terra Vitis is a double diploma, every member is certified HVE level 3.

Communication 

As it is a private initiative, financed by the participating members, there is no big communication budget, so it remains less well known than organic or even HVE (4% recognition in the study cited above). The new logo is now on bottles, which they hope will bring a bigger impact or a least create some consumer curiosity.

Château Monconseil Gazin

Jean-Michel, owner wine maker at Château Monconseil Gazin in Blaye, Côtes de Bordeaux is aware of this lack of consumer knowledge and believes wine tourism help to communicate with consumers.  The Château , is actively engaged in wine tourism, welcoming visitors to the property and explaining their environmental philosophy. 

In 2001, Château Monconseil Gazin was the first Bordeaux vineyard to be certified Terra Vitis. He was part of the original group that created the Terra Vitis label and has been the Bordeaux president since 2004. 

Personal motivation

This family property, on the right bank of the Gironde Estuary, dates from 1894 has 36 hectares of red vines and 2 ha of white vines. When Jean-Michel took over, the property had focused on mechanical work in the vineyard since the end of WWII. Continual tilling and ploughing meant not a blade of grass was to be seen between the vines. As the Côtes de Bordeaux are defined by slopes, erosion became a problem, but so the lack of structure and life in the soil. The terroir was tired and washed out no biodiversity.

In the 80s, the property was hit by cork taint from wood treatment in a new cellar, this chemical pollutant was the final wake-up call for Jean-Michel. He joined a group of vine growers looking for a more balanced approach, questioning chemical treatments and the frequency of ploughing. 

Till or no till 

For Jean-Michel the flexibility that HVE or Terra Vitis offers, compared to the banket ban on all chemical input in organic agriculture, is important. He considers HVE a stepping stone towards Terra Vitis. 

Bordeaux is big, with many different soils, terroir, microclimates. Although he personally believes that a no-till system is the future of a living soil eco system.  He’s aware that there’s no-one-size-fits-all solution. It’s different on other soils, he says. Grass can be in competition with vines which might be great where there is too much vigour; but some weeds, such as couch grass, are easily spread by ploughing and are real pests. Too much grass can make a plot more frost sensitive and increase humidity 

A virtuous cycle.

He believes that a living and balanced soil eco system produces vines naturally more resistant to disease. An argument I hear a lot from producers that have converted to more sustainable practices. A living ecosystem needs less intervention, creating a virtuous cycle.

He has seen a big change in attitude in Bordeaux over the last 4-5 years. He thinks this is due to increased awareness of climate change and a change in public opinion. Bordeaux is often cited in the French press for its high use of chemical inputs, in no small part, he reminds me, because it is the largest vineyard in France; but this means producers must step up to the plate.

Step up? 

Sustainable Agriculture or Agriculture Raisonné has been around for a long time in Bordeaux. Lutte Raisonné or integrated pest management, now often called ‘Bio Contrôle’, implies an intimate plot by plot understanding of the vineyard. This information allows the famer to responsibly manage his land, only using synthetic inputs when necessary and to complement with alternative solutions be they sexual confusion, ploughing or increased biodiversity.

It’s easy to understand why producers would be happy to keep the option of  treatments in vintages where they could save their crop and their livelihood, but many producers see a sustainable agriculture certification as a stepping stone towards organic certification. 

Both Château Lestrille and Château Loudenne have started this three-year journey of conversion to organic certification.  Certifications we will explore in the next post. 

Want to read more? Please sign up here  to receive future blog posts directly to your inbox.To learn more about Bordeaux, buy your copy of Bordeaux Bootcamp here, to learn more about Wine and Wellness, buy your copy of The Drinking Woman’s Diet here.  I look forward to your feedback.

Search for: Search