Whatever reservations one may have about organic viticulture and the way it is promoted it must be a more sane approach than the use of 100% weedkiller destroying a vineyard's biodiversity

This week there are two complementary posts on Les 5 du Vin on organic wine. Firstly on Monday David Cobbold wrote about what annoyed him about organic wine. Then, today, Michel Smith posed 15 questions on organic wine here.

'Le site de vente en ligne des produits du terroir de la Touraine du Sud est ouvert !

Les produits que nous vous proposons sont issus de l'agriculture biologique ou fermiers. Ils sont faits par des producteurs tous soucieux de préserver notre environnement et notre santé. 

Nous privilégions la proximité : ceux qui habitent non loin de Mouzay pourront retirer leur commande deux soirs par semaine au Prieuré.

Nous offrons un service : ceux qui habitent l'agglomération tourangelle seront livrés deux jours par semaine.

Nous voulons que tous en profitent : tous les produits d'épicerie fine et de conserverie peuvent être expédiés.

Mais au delà des produits, avec les Saveurs du Prieuré, vous connaissez ceux qui les conçoivent et les réalisent. Mieux vous pouvez, pour une partie des producteurs, les voir en vidéo dans leur passion.
En plus nous vous mettons à disposition quelques recettes pour cuisiner tous ces mets que nous vous mettons à disposition.

There is also a blog.'

Products offered include Geline de Touraine, duck confit, foie gras and goats' cheese. Organic wines from Denis Père et Fils (Touraine), François Pinon (Vouvray) and Domaine de la Chevalerie (Bourgueil).  

Les Saveurs du Prieuré, Le Prieuré 37600 Mouzay 
Tel: 02 47 59 08 65
Email: contact@lessaveursduprieure.fr

No possibility of wild tulips surviving this onslaught!

Interesting and encouraging story in Ouest-France on Saturday about the replanting of wild tulips in a couple Muscadet vineyards. Until the 1970s and the arrival of the widespread use weedkillers to control weeds and save money on cultivation, wild tulips were apparently a common sight in the Pays Nantais. Just 12 years later they had become an endangered plant and only saved from extinction by a small plot being planted in the Jardin des Plantes de Nantes.

Now Vincent Caillé (Le Faye d'Homme in Monnières) and Rémi Bonnet of Bonnet-Huteau in La Chapelle-Heulin planted some bulbs in their vineyards last Friday. Both domaines are in conversion to organic viticulture. In the Ouest-France article Vincent Caillé cites the now famous saying of Claude Bourgignon that some of the soils in the Côte d'Or were more dead and devoid of life than those of the Sahara.

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Interesting post here on Hervé Lalau's Chroniques Vineuses about a pesticide article in La Revue de Vins de France and a comment on www.mistelle.fr http://hlalau.skynetblogs.be/post/7516614/severe-monsieur-septime-avec-la-rvf

Mistelle's remarks include this startling comment:

«Le taux de phtalimide dans le Château Canon est 3600 fois supérieur à la concentration maximale admissible de produits phytosanitaires dans l'eau du robinet.» et «phtalimide, une molécule provenant du Folpel. Employé pour lutter contre le mildiou, ce puissant fongicide est considéré comme cancérigène ».

The level of phtalimide in the Château Canon is 3600 times above the concentration permitted in tap water. Phtalimide is a molecule of folpel, which is used to combat mildew. This powerful fungicide is considered to be cancerogenic.

See also www.mistelle.fr

Vineyard in AC Azay-le-Rideau with earth piled up against vine trunks to protect against harsh winter weather. In Spring the earth is moved away

Agreste: Pays de la Loire
Janvier 2009: Pratiques culturales en viticulture 2006

This is a useful eight page study on viticultural practices in the Loire. It provides details on the use of various viticultural practices in the Loire including grassing over, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.

The study notes that a number of chemical substances were withdrawn at the end of 2008 and more will be at the end of 2009:

Retrait de substances actives

Le paysage phytopharmaceutique est en évolution rapide. Ainsi dans le cadre du plan ECOPHYTO 2018, trente des cinquante-trois substances actives jugées les plus préoccupantes ne sont plus utilisables depuis la fin 2008. Ainsi, une partie des molécules utilisées sur la vigne en 2006 ne sont plus disponibles pour l’utilisateur (diuron, méthomyl, fénarimol, fluquinconazole, procymidone, fenbutatin oxyde, ...). D’autres substances actives vont par ailleurs connaître en 2009 leur dernière campagne d’utilisation (carbendazime, dinocap, ...). Si d’autres solutions techniques existent d’ores et déjà et sont parfois largement mises en œuvre, le paysage phytosanitaire va nécessairement se redessiner.

It also has interesting figures of the popularity of grape varieties in the Loire, not including the Central Vineyards.

'Encépagement 2006 en Val de Loire

A l’échelle de la région viticole enquêtée (départements de l’Indre-et- Loire, du Loir-et-Cher, de la Loire-Atlantique et du Maine-et-Loire), les cinq principaux cépages rencontrés sont par ordre décroissant : le Cabernet franc (29 %), le Melon ou Muscadet (22 %), le Chenin (12 %), le Gamay (8 %) et le Sauvignon (6 %). En Indre-et-Loire et en Maine-et-Loire, le Cabernet franc (de 46 à 54 % de ces vignobles) et le Chenin (environ 21 %) occupent donc 7 hectares sur 10. Le Muscadet (le Melon) et le Gros-plant (la Folle blanche) sont emblématiques de la Loire-Atlantique avec respectivement 72 et 10 % de l’encépagement de ce département. Le Loir-et-Cher se caractérise par une plus grande diversité des cépages sachant que le Sauvignon (31 %) et le Gamay (19 %) dominent.'

I'm surprised that the area of Cabernet Franc planted is higher than that of Muscadet, though I suppose that almost all the plantings of Muscadet are concentrated in the Loire-Atlantique.

Château Pierre-Bise

Saturday 31st January 2009

Visiting and tasting with Claude Papin (Château Pierre-Bise) is always an enjoyable challenge. The wines are invariably excellent. It is fully comprehending the ideas and often the need to translate them into English that is the challenge, especially as I'm aware that Claude's understanding of English is increasingly good even if he doesn't speak in English very often.

Today Claude gave a fascinating explanation as to why cultivating (ploughing and harrowing) the soil regularly often as a way of avoiding using weed killer is a mistake. On a previous visit Claude had expressed reservations over cultivation as it disturbs the soil's natural profile. However, this was a much more full-throated condemnation – explanation that the practice was decidedly harmful.

To make his case Claude drew an exact analogy with a car. The fuel is the humus, the power or size of the cylinder is the depth of the soil and the amount of water that it can hold, while accelerator is the amount of air in the soil. The more air in the soil the faster the humus is burnt and the more nitrogen produced. The problem with frequent cultivation of the soil is that it puts more air into the soil and thus increases the nitrogen produced. This inbalance affects the vines' leaves and also makes it more susceptible to disease.

If this is correct, then it has significant implications given the increasing number of vignerons who cultivate their soils.

Claude Papin

Claude is predicting that within five years weed killers as we currently know them will have ceased to be used in the vineyards and that the bio-intelligent will have arrived. Instead there will be sprays based on plants that will keep grass and weeds under control, or there will be plants developed and used in the vineyards that are less vigorous and are less greedy with their use of water, or cultivation will be used. Obviously Claude hopes that at least one of the first two options will be available, so that cultivation can be avoided.

Claude also talked out the effects of global warming in Anjou, especially in relation to the increased level of transpiration. Between 1968 and 2008 the average min temperature has risen by 1˚ and the max by 2˚. At the same time the amount of sunlight has increased and transpiration has consequently risen by 30%. In 1978 around 600 mls of water was lost per annum through transpiration. As the average rainfall was 550-600 mls this was in balance. In 2008 the transpiration rate was 830 mls per annum – so out of balance with the result that some of the oak trees around the Layon are now dying. Apparently there is a new vine rootstock that has been developed whose transpiration rate is 30% less than existing rootstocks.

Among the raqnge of Claude's wines that we tasted, I particularly liked the following:

2007 Haut de la Garde, Anjou Blanc
Rich and long

2007 Grand Beaupréau, Savennières
Honeyed with a mineral finish from the joint-venture with Vincent Ogereau and Yves Guignard

2005 les Rayelles, Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire
Rich citric flavours – brilliantly pure.

2007 Quarts de Chaume
Opulent fruit with wonderful lacy balance, showing how good some of the 2007 Loire sweet wines are.

2007 Spilite, Anjou Villages
Good concentration and texture for the year.

2006 Spilite, Anjou Villages
Rich concentration – gamy character. Good bottle now but will certainly keep three or four years.

Claude, Joëlle, Réné and Christophe Papin, Château Pierre-Bise, 49750 Beaulieu-sur-Layon,
Tel: 02.41.78.31.44
Email: chateaupb@hotmail.com