To respect the terroirs and preserve resources

All environmental certifications are founded on a set of specifications and are awarded by certification bodies.

Yes, i get it, but there are so many of them…

Well let’s state a few…

The High Environmental Value (HVE) certification sets out the standards for sustainable agriculture by minimising the use of phytosanitary products or inputs, encouraging controlled grassing on the vineyard plots, maintaining certain trees and hedgerows as well as dry stone walls and rainwater drainage ditches, etc.  The purpose of this certification is to protect the soil and boost biodiversity by preserving natural wildlife habitats in order to offer the consumer a product derived from an eco-friendly growing approach.

The “Vignerons Engagés” certification goes further by requiring the wine producer to meet both environmental and social standards. It encourages wineries to  review their entire production chain from the grape on the vine to the wine in the glass. This comprehensive policy involves reducing inputs in the vineyards and in the winery during the vinification process. It also encompasses employee management and the management of stock through a reduction in the use of paper and supplies and by encouraging paperless processes.

When it comes to organic certifications, copper and sulphur are the only products used by the winemakers to combat vine diseases. With biodynamic farming, preparations based on plants, horn silica or horn dung are sprayed on the vine to fortify it. Lastly, the association des vins naturels (natural wine association) is a group of winemakers who work without any inputs. 

So there isn’t really a right or wrong way of doing things?

Whatever the certification, it is also the recognition of a personal (or sometimes family) trajectory that starts with respect for one’s wine heritage. The winemakers choose the way of working that they feel best suits their own vineyards. Some also adopt eco-friendly practices that are not part of any certification scheme, simply because they make sense and protect the terroirs that are vital to long-term sustainability. It is the sum of everyone’s commitments that makes the viticulture virtuous and responsible.

In 2023, the Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages AOCs’ harvest was 1.3 million hectolitres (HL). The proportion of the Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages AOCs production declared as organically grown was 275,476 HL (approximately 20%). 

That sounds interesting: How can you produce wines in harmony with the ecosystems?

The environmental recommendations guide, the result of work by the Côtes du Rhône Syndicat, lists a set of practices intended to encourage organic farming, promote and support changes in agricultural practices by prioritizing mechanical soil work for weeding, or even practicing selective grassing or one row out of two.

The Guide aims to favor alternative products to synthetic pesticides, limit the use and loss of phytosanitary products in the vines with more suitable equipment or to deploy alternative methods of protecting the vineyard. Based on themes driven by the Environment group, practical sheets are developed to facilitate the implementation of technical itineraries by winegrowers. Among the first practical sheets created, the subjects range from vitiforestry to cover crops, including soil rest.

In terms of plant cover, the Cru Tavel has for example included in its specifications, since 2011, agro-environmental measures aimed at maintaining grassy headlands (tractor turning points). The Technical Association of the Northern Côtes du Rhône is conducting trials with the Condrieu, Côte-Rôtie and Saint-Joseph appellations on grassing and mulching vines.

To combat grape vine moth, the Coop’Tain company, in partnership with the Crus Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Cornas and Saint-Péray, has installed synthetic pheromone diffusers designed to disrupt the sexual activity of harmful insects. This development, coupled with the installation of bat shelters, covers an area of ​​900 ha.

Further south, in the Vinsobres-Vaison la Romaine sector, the GIEE "Graine de vigne" is looking into monitoring plant cover practices. In 2023, for example, experimental plots were set up to measure the agronomic performance of different plant covers and their impact on the soil and the vine. This highlighted in particular that rows sown then crushed-buried superficially make it possible to reduce the water stress of the vine, compared to unsown rows: enough to open the way to prospects for ever more sustainable viticulture. 

What else can the wineries do to reduce waste?

A number of initiatives can be implemented at each stage of the winemaking and packaging process in order to preserve resources

• collecting and recycling of the packaging and plastic films used to package phytosanitary products.
• recycling water and organic matter : in the winery, the water used for rinsing the facilities and equipment contains plant debris, filtration earth, yeast, micro-organisms, sugars, organic acids, alcohol, etc. This effluent is sent to a settling tank to recuperate the organic matter, which is then used as fertiliser*.  
• using recyclable packaging : the packaging for the wines going into bottle or bag in box (bib) is optimised to make it recyclable. Less demanding in terms of raw materials, the weight of this packaging is reduced. This results in lower co2 emissions during production and transport.

Usinge plant-based ink, glass and corks from 100% recycled sources… 

In the Côtes du Rhône, the Union has formed a partnership with Adelphe, which allows it to offer companies negotiated rates to meet the recycling obligations incumbent on the sector. 

The entire production chain is scrutinised in order to create an activity that is increasingly more sustainable.

After a vineyard is grubbed up, it is recommended that the land be left fallow, wild or planted, so that it can regenerate. This period of rest allows the soil to restructure.

Also known as Ecological Reservoir Zones, these are lands that are free of any treatments or fertilisers. They help to maintain biodiversity, absorb water and slow down soil erosion, particularly that caused by the wind. They can take various forms: isolated trees, hedgerows or copses, embankments and vegetated headlands (tractor turning areas), partial or total grassing of the vineyard. They are an integral part of the high environmental value certification.

Allowing the land to rest and regenerate – that sounds good…

When a sowing is planned, this will be selected according to several criteria: its aesthetics, its healing qualities in order to curb vine diseases, its resistance to the mediterranean climate and its capacity to adapt to rustic terrains.

More and more winemakers are opting for flower-covered fallow land.

In addition to proper soil preparation, this means carefully selecting the seed mix and avoiding exotic plants that could have a negative impact on biodiversity.

When it comes to creating permanent fallow land, perennials known for their abundant flowering are recommended. 

The Côtes du Rhône Appellation has 27 authorised grape varieties (also known as varietals). Their cultivation varies according to the climate and the soil, which is referred to as the “terroir effect"".

Over the centuries, the AOC's winemakers have selected these grape varieties for their taste qualities and the finesse they add to the blends, resulting in well balanced, harmonious wines. The Côtes du Rhône region's grape varieties are governed by a set of specifications. The main grape varieties used for the production of aoc red wines are Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. They represent at least 70% of the grape varieties planted.

For the whites, the varieties are Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache blanc, Marsanne, Roussane and Viognier, representing at least 80% of the white varieties planted. 

So I hear this is set in stone?

Yes, and no actually. In order to combat climate change and disease, the AOC has authorised, under certain conditions, the planting of new varietals resulting from crossings. These new varietals are Caladoc, Marselan and Couston.

Côtes du Rhône wines are blends of at least 2 grape varieties whose qualities are combined to obtain balance. Each winemaker can define the proportion of each grape variety in the final blend (within the limits of compliance with the AOC specifications): a real palette, which allows everyone to find their own style. In the northern Côtes du Rhône, on the other hand, Syrah is authorized alone.

In terms of blending, there are several schools: vinifying the grape varieties separately, making a blend on a vat (i.e. by putting several varieties of grapes in the same vat in varying proportions), or even "blend by plot" (harvesting at the same time the vines "planted in crowds" in the same plot regardless of their degree of maturity). But the final choice is up to the winemaker. The perfect knowledge of its plots and its grape varieties allows it to create wines in its image and in respect of the terroirs of the Côtes du Rhône.

The Syndicat des vignerons des Côtes du Rhône also participates in a program to select grape varieties resistant to certain diseases, to treat the vines even less, while preserving the typicality of the wines of the appellation.

In 2024, 4 new grape varieties have thus entered the specifications of the AOC Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages, in an experimental framework. These Varieties of Interest for Adaptation (VIFA) are Carignan blanc and Rolle, two white grape varieties well adapted to dry, infertile soils and hot terroirs, and Floréal and Vidoc, two hybrid grape varieties with good tolerance to mildew and powdery mildew, which make it possible to reduce the frequency of treatments, particularly in peri-urban areas.