Everything’s turning green and colourful!

The complete cover-cropping of our vineyard

Twelve years ago, we were among the first in the Côtes de Provence to commit to 100% organic production. Five years ago, we launched our range of natural wines made without additives. Recently, we have begun taking the next step: full cover-cropping of our vineyard. Once again, we’re among the pioneers, and it’s true, we’re rather proud of that.

So what exactly is happening?!

Nitrogen in the soil is essential for vine growth and wine quality. We monitor it closely because producing grapes and wood requires a great deal of energy.

Conventional fertilisation, however, poses a problem: the vine’s roots absorb nitrogen in the form of nitrates, but these forms of nitrogen are not fixed in the soil. Rain can therefore leach away excess nitrates, which end up in the water table and contaminate drinking water.

And yes, the vine is a robust plant, but it has its little weaknesses, just like us – one of which is that it cannot capture nitrogen bound in the soil on its own.

By maintaining grass cover in our vineyards, we aim to supply nitrogen to our soils naturally (without fertiliser). Just as we need you to help keep the estate going and to support us through your tasting feedback, we provide the soil with nitrogen using mixtures of leguminous plants. This type of cover cropping promotes the formation of humus (dead organic matter – as we call it) in the topsoil, the mineralisation of which naturally fixes nitrogen (from the air).

It’s a win-win situation, as humus not only improves soil fertility but also enhances water retention, protects the soil from erosion during droughts or heavy rainfall, and thus prevents the well-known release of nitrogen in the form of nitrates.