WITH EQUAL AREA OF WOODLANDS AND VINEYARDS SINCE 1993, VINSOBRES APPELLATION IS A PIONEER IN VITIFORESTRY

Vitiforestry is a growing movement throughout the French vineyards. Supposed to enhance biodiversity, nourish soils and protect vines from extreme weather conditions, the phenomenon is developing everywhere. In Vinsobres, an appellation in the southern Rhône Valley, this vitiforestry has been in place for over 30 years. With a preserved wooded area equivalent to the area planted with vines, the appellation’s visionary winegrowers now benefit from a healthy management of their natural environment.

As you stroll through the Vinsobres appellation area, vineyards stand side by side with forests of truffle oaks, pines and olive trees. Hedges encircle the vineyards and protect wildlife, insects and other small animals. The Vinsobres appellation features 1,375 hectares of vines classified as Côtes-du-Rhône cru for 1,238 hectares of forestland. A singular ratio and near-perfect balance of one hectare of vines to one hectare of forest, making Vinsobres one of France’s most wooded appellations.

OVER 30 YEARS OF FOREST HERITAGE PRESERVATION

In the wine-growing France of the 70s and 80s, when trees were sacrificed on the altar of productivity and mechanization, part of the French vineyard resisted the temptation in the name of common sense – the preservation of this forest heritage. Today, in Vinsobres, winegrowers do not plant country shrubs or fruit trees in the middle of the vines, they care for century-old oaks, olive trees and other decades-old species planted in and around the appellation area.

A joint agreement between the winegrowers’ union and local authorities led to the revision of the “land-use plan” (POS in french) in 1993. The document at the time listed “large areas of woodland” and “numerous ravines that divide the communal territory, bordered by poplars drowned in a thicket of vegetation with a definite wealth of wildlife”. The precious “land-use plan” is categorical: “any request to clear land in classified wooded areas is inadmissible”.
Denis Vinson, Domaine du Moulin, was among the group of winegrowers who supported the project at the time. “We were lucky enough to work with a visionary mayor, and we all insisted on protecting this part of the territory. Biodiversity is the basis of life. Clearing everything to create large expanses of vines was never an option in Vinsobres.”

IN THE NAME OF CLIMATE AND BIODIVERSITY

If vitiforestry embodies a virtuous new economic and ecological model in a world subject to the uncertainties of climate, the winegrowers of Vinsobres, pioneers of the kind, are today benefiting from this healthy management of their natural environment.

Against climate change, woodlands protect vines against frost and sometimes against the Mistral wind. In the steepest parts of the vineyard, forests prevent erosion and limit the devastating runoff caused by violent summer storms.

Depending on the exposure, some winegrowers note the creation of a microclimate that regulates springtime cold, providing shade and coolness against the summer heat that accelerates ripening. The positive effects can also be measured in terms of the impact on biodiversity. The wooded areas, from the hundred-year-old tree to the small hedge at the edge of the plot, give life to a whole ecosystem favourable to the fauna and the auxiliaries of the vine. Birds find branches to nest in, rodents benefit from a natural habitat, and insects and other micro-organisms proliferate, creating life in the soil.

At Domaine de l’Ancienne Ecole, which has been organically farmed since 2014, the presence of a Classified Wooded Area is an undeniable asset. “Since we converted to organic agriculture and stopped spraying the edges of the Classified Wooded Area, we’ve noticed the return of life in the soil and many birds. A balance has been created with the return of auxiliaries beneficial to pest control,” describes Anna Thoburn, owner of the estate since 2007.

In Vinsobres, trees and vines continue to grow together. For the vines, they provide freshness and protection; for the animals, they offer shelter and nesting boxes; for the winegrowers, they design hiking trails and prospects for the future.