MEET BORDEAUX’S ECO-WARRIORS
Seeing horses and weed-nibbling sheep in Bordeaux’s vineyards is no longer a surprise. Grass and wildflowers grow between rows of vines where once bare soil reigned and, happily, an ever-increasing number of winemakers no longer spray them with pesticides or herbicides.
Though some wine lovers still think of the world’s largest fine wine region as wedded to a conventional past, I’ve been stunned in the past few years by the dozens of innovative ideas château owners are embracing to reduce their impact on the environment.
Those new architectural statement cellars on the Left and Right Banks are ‘green-designed’ to recycle water, reduce energy use, and even capture CO2 and repurpose it. And as a younger, even more eco-conscious generation takes over, there’s much more to come.
For many in Bordeaux, the 2003 heatwave was a wake-up call to the fact that climate change required a far-reaching plan to help slow global warming, adapt and be sustainable into the future.
The first phase included going organic and biodynamic, with passionate forward-thinking estates, such as Château Pontet-Canet, leading the way. Today the list of wineries with certified organic and/or biodynamic vineyards is longer than many imagine, from Châteaux Climens in Sauternes to Fonplégade in St-Emilion (see p77), to Marquis d’Alesme in Margaux.
