The vine is adapted to warm Mediterranean climates, but extreme and repeated aridity without irrigation can lead to a significant drop in yields and sometimes to conditions, without irrigation, can lead to a very significant drop in yields and sometimes to the death of the mortality of the stock. For centuries, winegrowers in Mediterranean regions have coped with high temperatures, heat waves and periods of drought, and have developed production systems that are resilient to these arid conditions (grape varieties and rootstocks, management methods, agroforestry, etc.).

The optimisation of energy and the reduction of the impact on the greenhouse effect combine the use of the thermal inertia of the subsoil, renewable energies (solar, Canadian wells, geothermal, etc.) and vegetation for the roof or walls. With regard to effluents, ecological treatment aims to reduce energy consumption, better integrate into the landscape and possibly contribute to the development of biodiversity. This is often based on the principle of phytoremediation by plants with a view to the circular economy.

The magazine « Revue Française d’Œnologie » (January-February, 2020) devoted five pages of interviews to Joël Rochard on the theme of climate change and sustainable viticulture.

It is absolutely necessary to limit the impact on greenhouse gases and, more generally, to implement sustainable development whenever possible within the wine industry”.

Joël Rochard

Man has seen his energy consumption increase with exponential growth since the primitive period. From a few thousand calories (food requirement), individual daily consumption currently reaches more than 250,000 kilocalories in modern technological civilization (domestic, industrial and agricultural consumption, transport).Both viticulture and agriculture have developed mechanisation since the middle of the 20th century. But beyond direct energy consumption (tractors, harvesting machines), intermediate wine products (fertilizers, plant protection products) generate an increase in energy consumption.Concerning oenology, winegrowers often knew by empiricism the importance of thermal aspects during the elaboration of a wine. All means that allowed to benefit from the coolness or natural heat were used (underground cellars, opening of the cellars during the winter, window wells oriented according to exposure or prevailing winds). In addition, the winter cold was used to ensure the tartaric stabilization of the wines.

In addition to the wine and oenological routes, organic viticulture must also address the different aspects of sustainable viticulture, in particular the treatment of cellar effluent, with an ecological approach. Inaddition to wastewater treatment performance,effluent treatment must integrate different ecological orientations: low energy consumption and limiting waste (sludge) that is increasingly difficult to manage by agronomic means. In addition, in conjunction with the concept of eco-enotourism, a harmonious integration of the system can be envisaged, which combines a limitation of olfactory and noise pollution, alandscape and biodiversity enhancement as well aspossibly a reuse oftreated water for irrigation. Constructed wetlands or bed techniques have proven their effectiveness in the treatment of domestic effluents. Their application to cellar effluents, which has been the subject of variousresearch projects for several years, makes it possible to enhance the aesthetic and ecological environment of the cellar. The objective of the communication is to present the principle of purification by a bed planted with reeds with the different possible implementations in the cellars

The œnotourism takes a share growing in the valorization of the wine territories.Thus emerges the concept of “Eco-Oenotourisme” which associates in particular, in connection with sustainable development, the landscapes, the biodiversity, as well as the éco-design of the cellars.The protection of the local biodiversity is also integrated in a approach of Eco-Oenotourisme and often takes part in the valorization of the local landscape(www.biodivine.eu).

It should be prevented that the landscape is regarded as a simple by-product of the wine and territorial practices (www.agriculture-et-paysage.fr), which justifies with the image of the International Charter “of Fontevraud” (www.chartedefontevraud.org) to develop a “patrimonial governance locally”.Beyond these functional aspects, the notion of Eco-Oenotourisme is associated with the taking into account of sustainable development in the design of the cellars (www.ecowinery.eu)

Solutions For The Wine Industry Conference

Joël Rochard has published a picture book with a lot of many photographs about viticultural landscapes. You can find it here.

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The 8th IWA Specialized Conference on Sustainable Viticulture, Winery Wastes & Agri-industrial Wastewater Management will be held in Viña del Mar, Chile, during November 2017.

This colloquium integrates since a few years a global vision of the sustainable development applied to the vine growing.

http://www.winery2017.com/