Domaine Tariquet chose the path of sustainable agriculture in the early 1990s.
The very expression “raisonnée”, reasoned, implies continuous reflection on the management of the vineyard and a state of permanent monitoring.
We are not dogmatic, rather we seek the best of what can be taken from both conventional and organic practices. Every region is different and there is not one single answer that can be universally applied. Every approach must be seen in light of one’s terroir, climate and choice of grape varieties.
Our vision of sustainable agriculture aims to durably improve the cultivation conditions of the vineyards and the interaction with their environment. This approach allows us to anticipate and limit the impacts of our viticultural practices.
In French, sustainable agriculture is called “culture raisonnée.” The word reason (raisonnée) implies a constant reflection of how we grow our vineyards. It is through experience, trial and error, keeping up with scientific and technological advances, and from gaining an even more profound understanding of our environment, that we learn and grow.
Beyond agronomic specifications, one must integrate the complexity of life. This implies implementing tools and methods and, above all, measuring the concrete results of our wines’ organoleptic quality, the residues, soil life, biodiversity, water, carbon cycle, etc.
Vineyards are subject to innumerable potential climatic hazards: late spring frosts, hail, storms, excessive rain, drought. These seasonal events can have significant and sometimes devastating consequences on the harvest.
Climate variation is but one factor which can affect the quality of the harvest. Grape vines are prone to numerous diseases and pests. Indeed, every vintage offers its own cocktail of potential hazards whether that be fungal, viral and bacterial diseases, or pests Every wine grower understands and accepts that these are simply Nature’s laws that must be dealt with.
As with any living being, a healthy vine has better natural immunity, which allows it to better resist disease and pests. To this end, we have developed a whole set of specific viticultural practices.
« Let thy food
be thy medecine. » (Hippocrate)
Better health through diet, this is true for all living things, including vines. A well-nourished vine will tend to be more resilient in the face of external challenges. We therefore pay particular attention to supporting a diverse soil biology so that it may offer up whatever nutrients the vines may need.
As part of a sustainable approach, this nutrition must be balanced. Too much, and the vine will overproduce and lose quality. Not enough, and the depleted soil risks withering away. In both cases, the soil and the plant will be weakened.
As it grows and ultimately produces fruit, a vine takes up nutrients from the soil via its roots, mainly from the degradation of organic matter. The plant will thus regenerate new organic matter during its vegetative growth and the production of its fruits. However, at maturity, all the grapes are harvested and removed from the vineyard. This deprives the soil from integrating extra plant material into the soil through decomposition. We compensate for this loss of “exported” organic matter during the harvest by adding additional organic compost to the vineyard on a yearly basis
In keeping with our vision of regenerative viticulture, we use only organic amendments: compost, manure, green waste, and no mineral fertilizers.
Organic amendments “feed” the biology of the soil: macro and micro-organisms in the soil “digest” the organic matter over several years, gradually releasing trace elements and minerals in a form that can be easily assimilated by the plant for its nutrition and its plant and fruit growth. At the same time, this organic matter contributes to a better soil structure which allows increased water retention and drainage.
We do not use mineral fertilizers although they are quickly assimilated by the plant, as they can cause, in the case of massive input, secondary problems that we prefer to avoid as part of a long-term approach:
The most common vine diseases are mainly fungal. Both downy mildew and powdery mildew can attack the leaves, then the vine fruits anytime during the vegetative period, from bud break in spring until harvest in autumn. As for botrytis, it attacks ripe fruits and covers them with grey rot. This type of fungal pressure (GLO), especially mildew, is stronger in an oceanic climate like ours in Gascony, more humid during spring and summer compared to a mediterranean or continental climate.
In June and July, flavescence dorée is transmitted by an insect, the leafhopper. It spreads quickly, there is no cure, and the only way to manage its spreading is by uprooting the plants of the infected parcels. Thus, winegrowers are legally obliged, by prefectural decree, to carry out systematic treatments in their parcels to control the leafhopper.
Vine moths like Eudemis or Cochylis also wreak havoc on vineyards as their caterpillars puncture the grapes which empty their juices and favours the development of rot.
Even more serious is esca as it threatens the vine stock itself. This trunk disease, spread by several different fungi, dries up the wood and causes the vine to die. There is no more authorised treatment at this time. his disease, which has been developing rapidly since the beginning of the century, is today the leading cause of vine death in Europe.
We look at all these diseases within the lens of our vision of sustainable agriculture.
Through careful observation, our goal is to find a solution adapted to each unique situation and each plot, whether it be preventive or curative.
For example, considering the mosaic of microclimates within our various parcels, the estate’s teams have installed meteorological microstations allowing them to monitor microclimatic variabilities as closely as possible. Interventions can therefore be targeted and implemented only when absolutely necessary.
Above all, these interventions consist of cultural practices intended to prevent and limit the spread of infections and the measured application of biodegradable treatments, mainly based on biocontrol (GLO) products, synthetic or natural, as well as organic products based on plant extracts, stimulators of the vines’ natural defences.
The use of copper, a phytosanitary treatment also authorised in certified organic production, generates residues, and disrupts soil biodiversity when applied in excess. Like all heavy metals, copper does not deteriorate, rather it accumulates over time. At the estate, the doses of copper used are lower by 30 to 50% than the maximum threshold authorised in organic farming, depending on the vintage and risks of diseases. n order to considerably reduce the use of copper, we prefer to invest in the use of biocontrol type products and alternative organic inputs based on natural mechanisms which stimulate soil and plant life without leaving any phytosanitary residues.
Another advantage of biocontrol products and organic inputs is that they help the plant fight off disease by stimulating its natural immune system, which makes it more resistant to future attacks. To do this, we apply our foliar sprays directly to the leaf surface. Made from fermented plants, they are an excellent boost of natural defences.
At Domaine Tariquet, sustainability also involves managing insect populations rather than their eradication. In that light, we favour targeted sexual confusion for the control of specific insects (like Eudemis). This method consists of installing specific pheromone diffusers (the same as the chemical substances secreted by females of the species) that will confuse the male insects and prevent them from finding their partner. Ultimately, this will limit reproduction, thus regulating the population and its capacity to destroy crops and/or alter the quality of the grapes.
Unlike pesticides, this sexual confusion does not affect other insects, because each species responds only to its own chemical signals.
This approach allows us to fulfil our goal of reaching the absence of pesticide residues in not only our wines and Armagnacs, but also in our soils.
To achieve this ambitious objective, Domaine Tariquet has, since the beginning of the 2000s, selected new phytosanitary products in association with a method of filtering the dilution water and a correction of its pH for vine treatments. The objective is, on the one hand, to reduce the use of products, and, on the other hand, to use products with less impact. This has been done gradually over the years thanks to the progress of product and equipment manufacturers and many tests in the field.
To support these new practices, Domaine Tariquet was amongst the first to use a technological innovation in 2015 that would then deploy on all its vines in production: recovery panels. These panels, used in combination with our sprayers, prevent products from spreading unnecessarily into the atmosphere and onto the ground. This equipment focusses the spray on the vine thanks to the panels which advance on either side of the row, like a tunnel, while we spray thus confining the product to the leaf surface. They allow a more precise application to the plant and recover excess droplets. This technology (usable from the second or third year after planting, once the young vines are sufficiently tall), combined with our specific product choices initiated since the beginning of the 21st century, has made it possible to reduce the amount of treatment products by 50% in about fifteen years.
These few examples illustrate our vision of sustainable and regenerative viticulture, an approach we apply to all the estate’s vineyards.
More than 400 hectares of areas of ecological interest are spread across our vineyards.