Important announcement: Moët Hennessy going herbicide free

March time in Touraine – widespread and distressingly
indiscriminate use of weedkiller

 

Today is apparently International Wine Day*, so I am delighted to post some very good news about sustainable viticulture that Moët-Hennessy will cease to use weedkillers in their wine division vineyards from the end of this year. Furthermore this ban will be extended to their Cognac vineyards by the end of 2021.

 

This is a major statement from a prestigious and important wine company. Although it is good to see the many smaller producers who have  ceased to use herbicides with many going organic as witnessed by the number exhibitors at this year's Millésime Bio and its associated events, Moët-Hennessy's decision should have an important boost to changing the acceptability of the use of herbicides. In addition they are investing €20 million into researching sustainable viticulture, although they are not going organic.

 

Here are two news articles on Moët-Hennessy's announcement, which came at Wine Paris.

From The Drinks Business:

'Luxury drinks company Moët Hennessy has announced that its entire wine division will be herbicide-free by the end of the year and it intends to invest €20 million in research into sustainable viticulture.

Its vineyards in Cognac will likewise be herbicide-free in 2021, the group said in a statement adding that it had invested in numerous electric and robotic machines which would be used to mow grass, including the tricky patches directly below the canopy.

Read the rest of the article here.

Union France Monde

Moët Hennessy arrêtera « fin 2020 » l’utilisation des herbicides dans tous ses vignobles de Champagne, et en 2021 dans ceux de la région de Cognac, a annoncé mercredi 12 février son PDG Philippe Schaus lors du salon Wine Paris-Vinexpo.

« Fin 2020 en Champagne, nous allons complètement arrêter les herbicides, et nous allons construire un nouveau centre de recherche et développement en Champagne d’une valeur de 20 millions d’euros  », a déclaré M. Schaus.

« Pour le cognac, nous arrêterons un an plus tard », a précisé le dirigeant, qui a succédé en 2017 à Christophe Navarre à la tête de la filiale vins et spiritueux du groupe de luxe LVMH.

Robots et tracteurs électriques

« Nous remplaçons les herbicides par le désherbage mécanique grâce notamment à des tracteurs électriques et des robots »a-t-il dit.

Lire ici

•••

International Wine Days

* Quite why someone has dreamed up a specific International Wine Day is all rather beyond me. Nor do I have any idea who decided this or how the decision was made. I suspect that it was dreamt up by a PR company during a long liquid lunch or in an idle moment on a quiet Friday afternoon. 

I humbly suggest that every day in the year, including all of January should be an International Wine Day. In a normal year this makes 365 International Wine Days, while in 2020, being a leap year, we are particularly spoilt as we will have 366 International Wine Days!

My wine for the 48th International Wine Day of 2020:  

2017 Riesling, Quinta de Sant'Ana

Following a very interesting visit yesterday morning to the most attractive Quinta de Sant'Ana in Mafra we repaired to Ericeira on the Potruguese Atlantic Coast where we had a really excellent seafood lunch at Ribas. The 2017 Riesling was a delicious partner to our food and is a reminder as to how good the wines from the Lisbon district can be.

Ericeira is popular with surfers. Yesterday it was clear why with huge waves rolling in from the Atlantic.

 

Fury over ODG demand to hold Touraine 2016 prices

AC Touraine vineyards completely blitzed 

by weedkiller in late March  

Last Thursday I spent the day with Aynard Clermont-Tonnerre, the export manager for Ampelidae. Aynard used to run Le Clos du Porteau in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher. However, in 2009 the business went into administration and then filed for bankruptcy in October 2014. 

Aynard lives in Saint Georges-sur-Cher, so we drove down together to Haut-Poitou. This gave us plenty of time to chat – mainly about wine, of course. 

One topic we discussed was the letter (see below) from Alain Godeau, president of the Organisme de Défense et de Gestion de l’AOC Touraine et ses dénominations. Aynard was furious that the president of the ODG for Touraine was urging growers not to increase their prices despite the very small harvest that many, although not all, Touraine producers are facing in 2016.  Overall the 2016 harvest in the Loire is 32% down on 2015.

This year's very complicated vintage – affected by frost, often a poor flowering, widespread mildew, followed by drought and grapes burnt by the fierce sun – is just the latest in a series of short vintages starting with the April frost of 2012. 

Not only are recent harvest volumes down due to the climatic conditions of 2012-2016 but this is exacerbated by the losses from vines killed every year by Esca. 

Although it would clearly be foolish for Touraine producers to increase their prices dramatically, a modest price increase would surely be reasonable to enable producers here to make not only a decent living but also have sufficient funds to make investments. The current bulk price for Sancerre is around 800€ per hectolitre – very substantially higher than 205€ for Touraine Sauvignon – annexe below.   

If it is true, as Godeau asserts, that Touraine producers are making a good living at current prices, why is it that the use of weedkillers is so shamefully widespread in the Touraine appellations? It is noticeable that in Loire appellations, such as Saumur-Champigny, where producers can sell their wines at higher prices, the use of weedkillers is much less widespread. Blitzing a vineyard with weedkiller is the cheap option; alternative methods of weed control cost more.    

       

Organisme de Défense et de Gestion de l’AOC Touraine et ses dénominations

Noyers sur Cher, le 20 septembre 2016

Cher(e) collègue, 

Suite aux différents épisodes climatiques qui ont frappé le vignoble cette année, la récolte en Touraine s’annonce fragile et inégale sur l’ensemble du territoire.
 Depuis quelques années maintenant, les cours du vrac (cf. en annexe les cours moyens de la campagne 2015/2016), notamment en Sauvignon, sont bons et permettent de rémunérer le travail du vigneron. Cependant, la fluctuation de notre production impacte directement le marché avec des augmentations trop brusques des cours les années de plus faible récolte, impactant la commercialisation en aval, une trop forte augmentation des prix ne pouvant être acceptable par les distributeurs et le consommateur.

Nous avons déjà vécu cette situation en 1991, essayons de ne pas reproduire la même erreur... Il convient donc d’être raisonnable et de ne pas spéculer : une telle stratégie en période de faible disponibilité n’a jamais été bénéfique sur le long terme.

Dans ce contexte, une certaine stabilité des cours par rapport à la campagne qui vient de s’achever est indispensable de manière à ne pas déséquilbrer nos marchés, et ce pour l’ensemble de nos appellations.
 De plus, le Touraine ne se limitant pas au sauvignon, il serait stratégiquement intéressant de raisonner la commercialisation globale des produits du domaine, en ne misant pas tout sur le sauvignon et en maintenant de bons niveaux de rémunaration également pour les autres produits tels que les rouges et rosés, mais également les vins de base mousseux dont les cours augmentent progressivement.

Espèrant vous avoir convaincu de l’importance de la solidarité et du collectif sur notre vignoble, je vous transmets mes salutations et mes encouragements pour ces vendanges.

Le président de l’ODG Touraine Alain Godeau 

Viñas Santa Rita: 'agent orange' award for sustainability

Orange grass is so artistic and 'environmentally friendly'!

 

Jim's Loire is delighted to recognise Viñas Santa Rita's sustainability programme with an 'agent orange' award. It is good to see a company be so proud of their orange weedkillered vineyards that they featured them in their news and press releases section of their website.  

 Recent news with orange background

Wine awards

Press releases with an orange background

Extract from the Santa Rita sustainability programme:

'A commitment to sustainability is one of our values, which we understand as the combination of environmental friendliness, social equity, and also having the capacity to run an economically viable business.

That is why our sustainability strategy at Santa Rita includes measurement and management of our performance in environmental, social and economic areas throughout the winemaking process. That is, from the field to the glass.

Main Aspects of the Sustainability Program

Our sustainability program focuses on four of the most important aspects of wine production and from this perspective measurement processes are incorporated for an effective administration of all sustainability aspects and to work on projects aimed at producing continual improvement.

1. Vineyards:

We have implemented measurement processes in our vineyards that allow us to efficiently oversee vineyards, implement a water management program, and to inform ourselves of the climate conditions that are affecting them so we can make informed decisions on the effective and responsible use of resources. Some of our projects are related to:

• Reduced water consumption: 70% of our vineyards use modern irrigation technology, which reduces the amount of water consumed per hectare by 35%, thus maximizing efficiency.

• Reduced use of synthetic fertilizers and nematicides:'

(No mention of reduced or rejection of the use of herbicides)

The arrival of weedkillers in the 1960s

Weedkiller in Touraine vineyard: March 2009

Herbicides Diggings

(Excellent article here from Betrand Celce on the introduction of weedkillers in the late 1960s.)

'Winter. Cold outside. Good time to stay indoors and dig into material for a potential post, listening to Internet radio, say KEXP Seattle, a long-, longtime favorite with great music and DJs like Kid Hops (Positive Vibrations) and Johnny Horn (Preachin' The Blues)...

Why not speak about herbicides for a change? Here are a few pictures and extracts from a French agriculture magazine dating from 1969 that I found somewhere; this is a special issue of Le Producteur Agricole Français (march 1969 issue) devoted to herbicides and weedkillers. What we see here on the fields happened just the same in the vineyards, farmers all over the country implemented the chemical revolution and unknowingly began to take huge risks for themselves by spraying from their open tractor.'

France: use of pesticides up by 2% in 2008

Use of weedkiller in vineyards in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher

Depressing report on vitisphere.com on the increased use of pesticides (2% increase) recorded in 2008, despite the French government wishing to reduce their use – to reduce by 50% by 2018 'ideally'. France is the biggest user of pesticides in Europe and viticulture at 15% the important sector using them on 3.5% of the area on which pesticides are used. Although insecticides were marked down, fungicides and herbicides were both up.

The story is also covered on Hervé Lalau's Chroniques Vineuses

Springtime in Savennières

Biodiversity in Savennières

Cover crops between the rows of vines
Photos by Cathy Shore of le tasting room

Spring flowers

Silent spring in Touraine

Can this scorched earth approach really be a viable long-term alternative? Admittedly a bottle of Savennières sells for considerably more than a Sauvignon de Touraine but..... If you were a bee where would you prefer to pollinate?

More details on le tasting room's blog.

Incidence of the use of weedkillers in French wine regions

Particularly attractive orange tint in Cheverny vineyard

Comment from Laurent Saillard that deserves greater prominence:

'Palmares of the wine regions using herbicides as the only mean of weed management (in percentage of the whole area)*:

Champagne: 97%
Beaujolais: 96%
Languedoc-Roussillon: 92%
Val de Loire: 91%
Bordelais: 89%
Alsace: 87%
Bourgogne & Provence: 79%

(2006 numbers courtesy of Le Rouge & Le Blanc, Spring 2009)

Also note that the herbicide used in 70% of these cases is Glyphosate, which was until 2000 exclusively produced by Monsanto under the brand ROUNDUP...

Should I remind you that in the 1960s and 1970s, Monsanto was the leading producer of Agent Orange for US Military operations in Vietnam...'

lerougeetleblanc.com/weblog.php?id=C0_5_1

Blitzed in Cheverny

* Clarification: Although the figures would appear to be correct coming from the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, they refer to the incidence of the use of weed killers in French vineyards and are not necessary the sole means used to control weeds. For instance the vineyard might to be partly grassed over with weed killer used under the vines.

•••

The latest edition of Le Rouge et Le Blanc has an article on the Cher Valley:

'Plaisirs du Cher

Loire > Touraine > Vallée du Cher

Loire > Touraine > Vallée du Cher : Domaines Vincent Ricard, des Bois Vaudons, Pascal Potaire, Clos Roche Blanche, du Bois Lucas, Élise Brignot, de la Lunotte, des Maisons Brûlées, du Poncer, de Bel Air.'

Blitzed in Anjou, too

Apparently the grapes from this spectacular but blitzed vineyard go to a leading sparkling wine producer in Saumur
UNESCO World Heritage site!!

Three photos from vineyards at St Georges des Sept Voies (near Gennes on the D751 road to Saint-Jean-de-Mauvrets and towards Angers) have also been blitzed with weedkiller. Some have this year's fashionable orange colour – great for punks' hair but not for vineyards..........

Photos: Cathy Shore

'Agent orange' in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher

The previous pictures of lifeless vineyards dosed with weedkiller came from Epeigné-les-Bois. These come from nearby Saint-Georges-sur-Cher. Not all the vines in this part of Touraine are blitzed in this way but far too many are, including a significant area in Saint-Georges. I thought napalm went out when the Americans left Vietnam!

A close up of orange grass

The previous posting on the dead vineyards of Touraine drew this comment from Laurent Saillard:

'How awful! Readers need to know that the grapes harvested in these vineyards are full of chemicals that you'll find in the wines.
Read last year study published by PAN: www.pan-europe.info/Resources/Briefings/Message_in_a_bottle_Results.pdf
In fact since there is no life in the juice coming from these grapes more chemicals need to be added to it in the cellar in order to make it an alcoholic beverage. And lets call it what it is: a manufactured alcoholic beverage not wine. We are all responsible for this: the conventional winemaker for having the pretention of making wine; the natural winemakers for not being able to speak with one voice on the matter; the consumer for believing that what he is buying is wine and the critics, the "professionals" for making a living on these lies.

Enough! Who are we kidding here?'

Although there have been criticism of the Pan-Europe research – see Jamie Goode's Wine Anorak piece, it is surely clear that blitzing the vines in this manner will not be acceptable for much longer nor does it make any sense in the medium or long term. This is not a sustainable practice – period! With their root systems mainly on the surface, these vines are highly unlikely to produce good fruit – if supplying the local cooperative that may, perhaps, not be a consideration with volume more important for the grower than quality. The local ecosytem will have been destroyed and the vines likely to require multiple treatments to counter various diseases and pests. Furthermore what is the point of encouraging wine tourism if the vineyards look like this?



Over the last 20 years the area of vines around Epeigné-les-Bois has reduced very considerably and, although it is sad to see vineyards disappear if they are only viable if an arsenal of chemicals are used then perhaps it is time to admit defeat and recognise that they are neither profitable or sustainable.


This, of course, doesn't just apply to this small corner of Touraine weedkillers are used in many parts of France and other parts of the world. My impression, however, is that their use is much less prevalent in Italy and Germany. Once again the fault is not solely the producers but all the way down the supply chain: from the négociant who pays little for the grapes or must they purchase, the buyer – often for a supermarket but not invariably, and the consumer who buys cheap wine especially the buy-one-get-one-free. These blitzed vineyards are the inevitable consequence of the desire to have cheap wine. Here journalists/wine writers have a responsiblity to alert the consumer to the consequences of buying wine at prices which is too low to permit sustainable viticulture.

The dead vineyards of Touraine

La lutte sans raison

Just no life .....

Only the vines are alive here!

Terroir? What terroir?

Although much of the Touraine countryside is bursting with spring flowers and blossom, too many of the vineyards in the Cher Valley are dead – showing no sign of new life apart from the now swelling vine buds. All other vegetation has been blitzed by weedkillers. No biodiversity, the balance of the vineyard destroyed and no possibility of encouraging the beneficial insects that can help to keep pests in check.

It is, of course, easy to point the finger at the producers but prices are low in Appellation Touraine, especially if you sell your grapes to a cooperative and using weedkiller is cheaper than letting the grass grow and mowing it or cultivating – and cultivating may be almost as destructive. See here.

Also this scorched earth policy can help to protect against frost as grassed-over vineyards retain moisture and may well increase frost damage.

Close up of a dead vineyard
Again
'Agent orange': this year's fashionable weedkiller colour?

Bursting buds in a dead vineyard

Another approach – spring flowers even if they are mainly dandelions

A different approach
Blaze of white away from the vines