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With the 2019 vintage, the vineyards of the Bordeaux appellation St. Emilion will only harvest their grapes from certified sustainable, organic or biodynamic cultivation. Wineries that do not follow these standards may only classify their wines as "Bordeaux" from this date on. This has been decided by the Conseil de Vins de St. Emilion, to which 973 regional wineries belong. The decision affects 46 million bottles of wine produced in the appellations St. Emilion, St. Emilion Grand Cru, Lussac St. Emilion and Puisseguin St. Emilion. The Conseil des Vins reported that 75 percent of the companies had voted in favour of the decision. The other 25 percent fear higher costs and unforeseeable risks in cultivation.
With the new strategy of the committee, the farms could decide for themselves whether to cultivate their vineyards organically, biodynamically or according to the PDB 3 (Haute Valeur Environmentale) method, explained the Conseil director Franck Binard. This is the highest level of sustainable agriculture in France and includes guidelines on biodiversity, water consumption, plant protection and fertilisers.
According to the Conseil des Vins de St. Emilion, preparations for this step began two years ago. At that time, 45 percent of the producers had already decided to follow this path. Binard reported that the decision has now also generated a great deal of interest from wineries in other appellations.
(uka / Photo: Uwe Kauss)