Ducks at Clos des Quarterons, Loire Valley, France / Photo courtesy Xavier Amirault
Many vineyards are monocultures, or plots devoted to one crop, and, as such, they face extreme weather conditions and climate change with a limited set of biodiverse levers to pull. Agroforestry, the cultivation and preservation of trees and their ecosystems, presents a range of solutions to these types of viticultural issues, maintaining vineyard production while reducing negative impact on the environment.
Here’s how wineries around the world have embraced agroforestry for the betterment of their surroundings and their products.
Amirault Vignerons, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, France
Harvest in Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, France / Photo courtesy of Xavier Amirault
Sixth-generation vignerons Xavier and Agnès Amirault oversee the organic and biodynamic Clos des Quarterons vineyard in France’s Loire Valley. Their work is comprised of “thousands of actions” that promote biodiversity, says Xavier Amirault. “We are caretakers!”
On their vineyard, geese and hens eat grass and weeds (often pecking them out by the roots), gobble pests and fertilize soil.
