OUR APPROACH TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE WINE-GROWING

Creating and maintaining sustainable agriculture necessitates respecting the production methods. By considering, in the production, the impact of the methods on the environment and the terroir, Terra Vitis® establishes the rules to diminish the impact of agricultural works on the environment.

I. Origin of the approach.
Terra Vitis® establishes rules to be applied in the production, which will reduce risk of impact on the environment during the agricultural work.

In 1990 the Bordeaux wine producers joined to make a common approach to their vine growing. The object of this approach was clear and precise: to be competitive whilst taking into account the economic objectives of the producers, the wishes of the consumers and the respect of the environment and terroir.  After 10 years using these methods, a number of these wine producers wished to establish and to demonstrate a professional aspect to the consumers and other members of their network. This group realised that in order to do this they needed an organisation to properly represent themselves and their methods.

In 1998 it was decided to create an association Terra Vitis®, a guarantee of political independence and with the following objectives:

• To make these established methods known to the commercial partners and the          consumers.
• To be able to offer real guarantees by the following of these methods.
• To offer wines produced from the vines grown according to these methods.

Other wine growing regions expressed their wish to join Terra Vitis®. All adopted the same way of thinking (Anjou, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence Alpes Cotes d’Azur, Bordeaux, Loire, Pays Nantais et Tourraine) sharing the wish to bring a national approach, and to this end created local associations.

II. Terra Vitis®.
After 10 years of using the established method in the vine growing the Terra Vitis® wine producers wished to go further by introducing new elements into their approach:

• Management of air and water resources
• Management of biodiversity
• Management of ground resources
• Management of energy resources.

The main objectives of this project are:

• To work on and create an innovative federal reference
• To give a new meaning to the Terra Vitis® approach in going towards sustainable wine growing.
• To get the winegrowers more involved in the Terra Vitis® approach

Ensuring that the original Terra Vitis® idea remains intact. This project involves 3 parts in the defining of sustainable wine growing:

1. economic stage
2. technical stage
3. social stage

In 2009 a sustainable vine-growing reference was created.

III. The need for Terra Vitis®.
3.1 The Terra Vitis® reference.
Each local association member of the Terra Vitis® national federation must comply with a number of criteria:
-An established local organisation
-An apolitical association managed by a technical service that is independent from the selling of pesticides:
An agricultural chamber:
The technical service of a designation association
The technical service of a professional groupment
-To have an annual and recorded technical up date following the progress of the agronomic research.
-This technical up date needs to take into account the environment friendly techniques used by Terra Vitis®.

3.2 Creation of the brand
The aim being to communicate the production approach to the consumer, it is necessary to identify this on the bottles. A commercial brand label allows the wine-makers to demonstrate their engagement in respecting the environment.

Terra Vitis® was created closely associated with these words:

To observe and to respect in production.

3.3 An efficient control system

3.3.1 The management of traceability
At the members level:
Traceability begins with the vine-stock and continues through until the bottling of the wine, the wine producer complies with strict specifications to guarantee total transparency of his work.

At customer level
A recording system has been established to ensure the traceability of the wine from the wine production until the bottling plant. The wine merchant must be able to show at any time his own tracking system as well as an inventory of the labels, back labels and the Terra Vitis® medaillon.

3.3.2 The control system.
The control system permits the verification of the different stages of the work, its conformity with established rules and to guarantee to the buyer that the wine originates from vines grown following the Terra Vitis® approach.

The control system has two stages:
An internal control made by the Terra Vitis® technical service.
An external control made by an independent certifying organisation.

Conclusion
In choosing Terra Vitis® wines, you support wine growers and wine cooperatives who guarantee:

An approach in production based on a choice of techniques, which are environmentally friendly, and to the Terra Vitis® specifications.

• To combine the respect of the environment and the economical well being of the Chateau.
• To adapt annually the specifications following progress made in research.
• To help develop biodiversity by keeping an active wine-growing ecosystem.
• To ensure the transparency of their actions and practices, their traceability.
• To be controlled by an independent certifying organisation.
• To conclude, buying Terra Vitis® wines contributes directly to sustainable development.