https://www.terredevins.com/actualites/entretien-chateau-lestage-darquier-grand-poujeaux-un-cru-de-poche

In diesem Artikel aus Terre de Vins vom 18. April erklärt Théophile unser Projekt, Agroforstwirtschaft und origineller Weinausbau, für das Château Lestage-Darquier Grand Poujeaux, unseren hochwertigen und vertraulichen Cru (14 500 Flaschen) in Moulis-en-Médoc. 

Das Leben explodiert in Anthonic an diesem ersten Frühlingstag!

Blumen in den Hecken, Schafe in den Weinbergen, aufblühende Knospen, Vögel in Hülle und Fülle. 

Die Anmut der Stieglitze auf den Rebzweigen!

Schauen Sie sich die Bilder an! Es waren zwei von ihnen, die fast synchron tanzten!

Agroforstwirtschaft ist "die Kombination von Bäumen und Nutzpflanzen oder Tieren auf einer Parzelle".

Wir halten keine Schafe, aber die Aufnahme von Schafen während des Winters vor dem Austrieb der Reben passt zu unserem Agroforstprojekt.

Die Schafe sind umweltfreundliche Unkrautvernichter, verzögern die Durchfahrt des Traktors für die Arbeit unter den Reihen (gut für unsere CO2-Bilanz!) und ernähren sich von unserem guten Bio-Gras (gut für sie!). Es handelt sich also um einen Win-Win-Austausch!

Sie bereichern den Boden und dynamisieren dort das Leben (Mikroorganismen) dank ihrer Exkremente.

Vorsicht ist geboten, wenn es um das Gleichgewicht mit der Bodenbedeckung geht. Wenn sie von den Schafen abrasiert werden, liefern sie weniger Biomasse, die als Gründüngung in den Boden eingearbeitet werden kann. Zu hohe Bedeckungen machen die Reben jedoch anfälliger für Frühjahrsfrost. Die Schafe können uns also dabei helfen, ihre Wuchskraft zu kontrollieren.

Und wir freuen uns über die Schönheit und den Frieden, die diese Schafe mit sich bringen!

Alexandre stimmt Les Aigles d'Anthonic 2022 in unseren Tava-Amphoren an.

Diese Fotos, um Ihnen einige praktische Details dieser Präzisionsarbeit zu erklären.

Mit dem Finger und mit der Taschenlampe testet Alexandre den Füllstand der Amphore durch die Pumpe.

Aber erst von Hand mit einem Eimer beendet er das Nivellieren, wobei der Finger hier nützlich ist, um den Weinfluss zu lenken.

Schließlich ist es wichtig, den Deckel der Amphore festzuziehen und den Korken, der den Füllstand kontrolliert, mit Wein zu füllen!

Nun kann unser Wein in der Amphore reifen, um noch fruchtiger und frischer zu werden!

Unser Team wurde gestern von Davy Chodjaï im physiologischen Rebschnitt geschult.

Der Rebschnitt ist eine technische Geste von großer Präzision und verdient es, dass mehrere Vormittage der Ausbildung gewidmet werden, um unsere Rebschneider zu perfektionieren. Wir praktizieren zwei Arten des Rebschnitts, Guyot mixte alterné und Cordon de Royat, und verfolgen dabei stets dieselben Ziele:

-Den Saftfluss bewahren, um den Fortbestand der Rebe nicht zu gefährden;

-Das vegetative Gleichgewicht des Rebstocks zu respektieren (die Anzahl der Knospen an seine Wuchskraft anpassen);

-Fördern Sie die Reservebildung der Rebstöcke, um die Erträge in den kommenden Jahren zu sichern;

-und die Belegung des freien Raums zwischen den Rebstöcken organisieren, um Überschneidungen von Blättern und Trauben zu vermeiden.

Vielen Dank an alle für Ihren Einsatz und Ihre Motivation trotz Wind und Kälte!

2022, ein reiches Jahr in 9 Bildern!

Danke an unser Team, das uns bei der Herausforderung unseres neuen Abenteuers unterstützt: Château Lestage-Darquier Grand Poujeaux und Agroforstwirtschaft auf Kiesboden! 

Danke an alle, die mit uns beim Marathon du Médoc gelaufen sind (insbesondere Théophile, Pierre-Louis und Emmanuel)!

Danke an unsere Künstler: Pierre-Louis (der Künstler Picor) für sein wunderschönes Fresko in unserem Weinkeller und Nathalie (Nathalie Coipel) für ihre schönen Fotos!

Danke an alle, die die Qualität unserer Weine anerkennen, die das Ergebnis unserer intensiven Arbeit in den Weinbergen (Agroforstwirtschaft) und im Weinkeller sind.

Und natürlich danke ich Ihnen allen für Ihre Unterstützung und Ihre Treue!

Château Anthonic 2019 und 2020 gehören zu den "Geheimtipps für die Feiertage. 100 große Bordeaux-Weine für weniger als 40 €"!

Wir freuen uns sehr über diese Anerkennung durch die Revue du Vin de France (Dezemberausgabe), zumal unter den vier zitierten Moulis ein Foto unseres Weins hervorgehoben wird.

Les Aigles d'Anthonic 2021, unser Zweitwein, ausgewählt von der Revue du Vin de France!

Wir freuen uns sehr, dass unser Zweitwein in die strenge Auswahl dieses schönen Artikels über "Wenn Bordeaux seine Codes ändert" unter "Weine, die man im Auge behalten sollte" aufgenommen wurde.

Der Kommentar trifft den Geist dieses reinen Merlots, der zur Hälfte in Tonamphoren und zur anderen Hälfte in 400-Liter-Eichenfässern ausgebaut wird, perfekt.

Seit einigen Jahren haben wir uns bei der Vinifizierung der Aigles d'Anthonic dafür entschieden, der Frucht und der Trinkbarkeit den Vorzug zu geben.

Warum und wie die Aussaat von Pflanzendecken .

Im gesamten Weinberg (Château Anthonic und Château Lestage-Darquier Grand Poujeaux) säen wir derzeit Mischungen aus Leguminosen (Ackerbohnen, Wicken, Klee, Futtererbsen), Getreide (Hafer und Triticale) und Kreuzblütlern (Senf und Futterrettich).

Wir passen den genauen Inhalt der Mischungen Parzelle für Parzelle an die gewünschten Effekte an (Belüftung oder Stickstoffversorgung des Bodens, Verbesserung seiner Tragfähigkeit...), da diese Pflanzen unterschiedliche Vorteile haben.

Diese Pflanzendecken werden in einer von zwei Reihen gesät (die andere bleibt als natürliche Begrünung erhalten), um später das Befahren mit Traktoren zu ermöglichen.

Die so gesäten Pflanzen werden in der Tat hoch werden, wie Sie in Echtzeit sehen werden. Denn wir werden Sie über ein Jahr hinweg verfolgen lassen, wie sich die soeben gesäten Begrünungen auf demselben Feld entwickeln.

Auf dem Foto sehen Sie links die Parzelle am Tag der Aussaat, dem 12. Oktober, und rechts am 2. November!

Zoom auf ein wichtiges Detail: Jonathans Hände.

Wie viel Energie er aufgebracht hat, um die Käfige für das Pressen des Jahrgangs 2022 zu füllen! 

Das Pressen ist der Moment, in dem der Trester (die mit Saft gefüllten Schalen) gepresst wird, um den Presswein zu extrahieren.

Wir unterscheiden zwischen dem ersten und dem zweiten Presswein (je nachdem, wann sie abfließen, wobei der zweite konzentrierter ist), die wir getrennt ausbauen.

Beim Vermischen werden sie zur Anreicherung des Tropfens (d. h. des Mostes, der aus den Tanks geflossen ist) verwendet.

 

Eine Zucchini von 300 g! Das ist der Unterschied zwischen diesen beiden Kartons, seit wir das Gewicht unserer Flaschen von 500 auf 450 g reduziert haben.

Also für eine Palette mit 100 Kartons=> 30 kg Zucchini!

Auf das gesamte Weingut bezogen bei normaler Ernte => 6 Tonnen Zucchini!

Ernsthaft: Eine leichtere Flasche bedeutet eine Verringerung des CO2-Fußabdrucks, nicht nur, weil sie bei der Herstellung weniger CO2 verbraucht, sondern auch, weil sie beim Transport weniger CO2 verbraucht!

Wie wir Ihnen bereits im April erklärt haben, haben wir diese Entscheidung gemeinsam mit unserem Partner Verallia getroffen, um unser Engagement für die Agroforstwirtschaft (Hecken, Bäume und Pflanzendecke) zu unterstützen, die zu einer erhöhten Kohlenstoffbindung in unseren Böden führt.

Unsere Familie hat von der Familie Bernard das Château Lestage-Darquier Grand Poujeaux gekauft, ein 9,5 Hektar großes Anwesen in Moulis-en-Médoc, wohin wir unsere Erfahrungen im ökologischen Weinbau und in der Agroforstwirtschaft exportieren werden.

Die Lage dieser Weinberge, die oft an Wälder und Bäche grenzen, und die bereits grüne Bodenbewirtschaftung durch die Familie Bernard (natürliche Begrünung) eignen sich ideal für die Umsetzung der Agroforstwirtschaft (Hecken, Bäume und Bepflanzung).

Wir haben bereits offiziell mit der ökologischen Umstellung dieser Parzellen begonnen, die auf dem hervorragenden Terroir des Garonne-Kieses von Grand Poujeaux liegen.

Jonathan und Aymeric, Sohn und Schwiegersohn von Brigitte und François Bernard, die Sie auf dem Bild sehen können, freuen sich, unserem Team beizutreten.

Wir freuen uns sehr über dieses neue Familien-, Wein- und Agroforst-Abenteuer, das nun beginnt und das wir täglich mit Ihnen teilen werden.

Unser Sohn Pierre-Louis (der Künstler Picor) hat mehr als 65 Stunden damit verbracht, dieses Fresko zu realisieren, das von nun an unser Fasshaus schmückt, das zum Fasshaus der Sammlung geworden ist...

Herzlichen Glückwunsch an den Künstler, der hier seine Pinsel loslässt! 

Die Ernte sollte am Ende der Woche unter der Ermutigung des Gottes Perseus beginnen, der auf diesem Fresko dargestellt ist

Sommer in der Agroforstwirtschaft 2/2: Früchte reifen in den Weinbergen.

Wir haben in der Mitte einer unserer Parzellen Obstbäume gepflanzt. Äpfel, Birnen und Pfirsiche (siehe Foto) nutzen die Sommersonne, um zu reifen.

Haben Sie den Opilion (eine Spinnenart) entdeckt, der sich auf einem der Pfirsiche versteckt?

[Agroforestry Summer 1/2]: plant cover to protect from heat wave.

The plant cover, these plants planted in our vines in fall and rolled up in spring, is used to feed the soil by decomposing (green fertilizer).

AND the straw (mulch) formed in summer helps to decrease the temperature on the ground, as indicated by the readings taken at château Couhins in full heat (ph 2 and 3).

This year, the mulch is not very thick, as we rolled the cover early to limit the risk of frost on the ground.

A long-eared owl came to say hello to our vineyard team.

Thank you Mercedes and Lucile for making this beautiful picture!

The magic of wild orchids blooming in our ditches! 
They always return in May in the ditches that line the hedges or groves. 
This year, many red orchids (apparently “southern marsh orchids”).

The yellow flowers are not orchids but they contribute with happiness to this joyful carpet of flowers! 

Happy to greet the future 2022 vintage on this last day of the «ice saints» which in principle removes any danger of frost for this year. 

As for the frost at the beginning of April, it did damage on the complants but on the vines in production, we are doing much botter than last year.

Wonderful morning... 

Life of the vines, life in the vines .... an enchantment ! 

Jean-Baptiste and the entire team thank you Théophile for your tireless commitment over the past two years!
Today you go on tour in the United States, the kind of job you joined the wine estate for but couldn’t do until then because Covid and lockdown have arrived.

This situation forced you to adapt to a whole other job, more administrative and more on the ground, where you were quickly very effective. 

Thank you and enjoy the tour! 

Admire Esfera, the new friend of Château Anthonic, lighter and less CO2 consuming !

In line with our agroforestry commitments (hedges, trees, plant cover) which generate an increased carbon sequestration in our soils, we have chosen, thanks to our partner Verallia to switch to a 450g bottle, which is 45g less than its sister Ecova that we were using until then.

A small gesture that weighs a lot!

A lighter bottle requires less energy to manufacture and transport, two areas where we will significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

In concrete terms, Esfera has shoulders and a bottom similar to those of Ecova. But its waist (of wasp

Systematically planting hedges since 2010, we are starting to have high and dense hedges and have realized the interest of pruning and thinning them.

Indeed, when the hedges are close to the plots, limiting their height is important to limit the shade cast on the first rows of vines. But it is also interesting to thin them out (see photo) to create holes that will let the light through (sunshine for the grapes) and will favor aeration (against mildew).

We chose to reduce the hazelnut and dogwood trees which are two species of trees that are basitonic, that is to say that they have a propensity to promote the growth of their buds at the base, so that they will grow back easily. Such a pruning does not present any risk of killing these shrubs, on the contrary, it even increases their dynamics. 

This bunch will become a painting !!

Our son Pierre-Louis wishes to paint a fresco from lees of vintage 2021. He has thus decided to take part in the harvest and vinification to follow his “raw material”, taking advantage of a sabbatical year in his studies.

If you wish to discover the other projects of this passionate painter, take a look at his account picor_art on Instagram.

Es kommt nicht jeden Tag vor, dass Anthonic in einem Artikel über Château Latour erwähnt wird ...(FINE Das Weinmagazin)

Birte Jantzen erklärt alle Entwicklungen, die in diesem Château stattfinden, vor allem auf ökologischer Ebene, und unterstreicht auch ihr soziales und lokales Engagement sowie ihre Teilnahme, vom ersten Jahr an, an der Ausbildung der "Vignerons Du Vivant", die von Jean-Baptiste initiiert wurde.

Wir waren sehr gerührt von dieser aufrichtigen und unerwarteten Unterstützung eines solchen Medoc-Stars für unser Projekt. 

Acoustic identification of three species of BATS with agents of the Parc Naturel Régional Médoc last night at Anthonic!

Let's explain why we are delighted to observe them in our vineyards(1), how our agroforestry system favours their presence(2) and what we learned yesterday(3).

(1)Bats are true indicators of the health of an ecosystem and play an essential ecological role, particularly as "natural insecticides", since in one night, a bat can consume almost half its weight in various insects, including certain butterflies that are pests of the vine.

(2)Bats use echolocation to find their way around, which is made possible by the obstacles encountered by the ultrasound they send out.

The presence of trees and hedges in the heart of the vineyard, linked to agroforestry, therefore also has the advantage of giving these chiropterans additional landmarks and thus enabling them to extend their hunting territory.

(3)Yesterday we understood that the presence of ditches and ponds is also important to provide water for lactating females (the bat is a mammal!).

Acoustic identification is done by amplifying the ultrasounds emitted by the bats.

Each species has its own frequency of emission, which corresponds to differences in the distances they can cover, with the noctules, at the lowest frequency, being able to go the furthest (up to 150m) whereas the Lesser Horseshoe, at the highest frequency, only covers 5-10m.

There is a lot of talk about it, but what is AGROFORESTRY (1)? How (2) and why (3) should it be implemented in the vineyard? Here are some answers based on the choices made at Château Anthonic.

(1) The French Agroforestry Association explains on its website that "agroforestry refers to all agricultural practices that integrate trees into the production environment and are inspired, in agronomic terms, by the forest model. (...) The reintroduction of trees into agricultural landscapes is the result of a global agro-ecological reflection and can in no way be presented as an isolated solution. (...) We must therefore think of trees as a link in a wider chain of reflection on soil vegetation cover and changes in agricultural practices. "

(2) In order to transpose these principles into our vineyard, we began in 2010 by systematically planting hedges along the ditches that criss-cross the vines, while favouring grassing of the vines.

With the organic conversion in 2016, we have systematized the vegetation cover of the soil by planting cereal, leguminous and/or cruciferous plants in autumn that we roll and leave on the ground in spring. The vegetation cover provides the soil with its humus ration, while protecting it from UV and drought, and limiting compaction.

Since 2017, we have been designing all new plantings of vines to include trees in the plot itself, while we are also generalizing trees in the vineyard borders. The agroforestry system that is thus being put in place is the result of a great deal of thought, particularly with regard to the choice of tree species planted (fruit trees and local deciduous trees) and the repercussions on the density of the vine plantation and even on its pruning method.

(3) We are making all these efforts because the interest of the tree is far from being limited to its power to store carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.

The tree is a climate damper. By drawing and transpiring water from the deep layers, it cools the atmosphere in summer, while its presence limits the effect of the wind, which is responsible for significant water losses through evaporation.

The tree is an ecological hostel on all levels. Its branches are home to a variety of fauna and are a landmark for bats. It also contributes to the biodiversity of the soil, in particular by encouraging the presence of fungi (mycorrhizae) which will enrich the roots of the vine.

The tree also contributes to the drainage and fertility of the soil by restoring organic matter via the leaves that fall to the ground, the decomposition of its roots and the ramial chipped wood (RCW) that comes from its pruning (it must be pruned regularly so that it does not encroach too much on the vine).

In conclusion, planting trees in vineyards should not be the tree that hides the forest! It is part of a global agro-ecological system aimed at restoring complex ecosystems and encouraging biodiversity! Do not hesitate to come and see us to find out more than this too brief summary.

By its attitude, this buzzard confirms the interest of plant cover for biodiversity!

It elected as hunting ground one of the plots completely covered in green fertilizer (photo), that is a plot that has just been planted, and not one of the numerous other plots that are covered every other row (to allow passage on the row simply grassy).

Jean-Baptiste, who observes this buzzard from the window of the kitchen, found that it returns every day in this same plot.

Simply because it is there that it finds most easily food to eat!

As a reminder, plant cover is an agro-ecological practice that consists of planting cereals, legumes & crucifers that, when rolled in the spring and left on the ground, bring organic matter to the soil (hence the idea of “green fertilizer” ).

Do you know that we name « eyes » the buds left on the vine when pruning?

The «eyes» I see here come rather from the holes left by old branches but the coincidence is funny!

As for the ties (these “white ribbons” attached by hand), they are pieces of cloth used after the pruning to attach the vinefoot to the wire.

Do you know why we are experimenting to create hedges on BOTH sides of this ditch?

When trimming the hedges that already crisscross the vineyard, we kept the branches to create new hedges. The branches used for cutting were cut in bevel. The other ones were recovered to cover the ground: by degrading, they will create an environment favorable to the growth of the hedge.

We begin the experiment of planting a hedge on each side of the ditch so that as they grow they form a VEGETAL ARCH that completely covers the ditch, which will have a double advantage.

First, as the ditch will be protected from light, there will be no more vegetation growing in it and we will no longer have to maintain it. Second, this canopy of hedges will create an ecosystem favorable to biodiversity.

Our little trick for successful cuttings? 

Knowing that the cutting must be pushed deep into the ground (same length in the ground as on the outside) and that the diameter of the hole must be smaller than that of the cutting (to avoid oxygen that would dry the wood), making a pre-hole is an essential operation. Some use a rebar. At Anthonic, we use an old shaker stick from a harvesting machine! Which shows that, from the pruned branches to the old material, nothing is lost!

Do you know why this vine has been hand-braided and never trimmed since its pruning last winter?

Plaiting the vine is useful as a method of prophylaxis against mildew.

Indeed, the usual operation of trimming (or cutting the branches that have become too long) has the indirect effect of stimulating the awakening of the lower buds. New branches then develop at the level of the grape clusters, causing a buildup of vegetation favorable to the moisture favorable to mildew, especially since the young leaves are more sensitive to this disease.
By plaiting the vine, making a bridge over the wire and bending it towards the ground, we cause a natural slowdown of the growth of the vine, while the new leaves will accumulate at the top of the thread and not in the sensitive area of the clusters.
Braiding is done by hand and takes an enormous amount of time, which is why we don’t do it on all our plots but where we have done it, it has helped us to limit the risk of mildew.

You often ask us what we do in the vineyard after the harvest.

Before pruning next month, we maintain the training of the vineyard.

That is to say, as suggested by the piles in the photo, that we pass through all the plots and remove the damaged posts or dead vines

We dedicate the star and excellent comment we’ve received today in a famous French wine book for Château Anthonic 2007 to all those who have helped in those difficult days.

2017 means namely for us the terrible frost that deprived us from 95% of the crop. Everything for that vintage was more complicated but the wine is excellent as showed by this star.

We dedicate this star to our faithful team, our friends and their help for the harvest and our children who helped in the vineyard during the summer even when in the same time studying with their earbuds... Many thanks to each of you! You can be proud!!
 

To get a non-chlorinated water to prepare the herb teas for the care of our vines, we made this recovery system of rainwater. 
It’s simple to understand with the picture below and the gif made by our son @picor_art . https://www.facebook.com/chateauanthonic/videos/934291520323493/

The barrel on the right recovers the 1st water falling from the roof: it’s not useful because it’s dirty from the rinsing of the roof. When this barrel is full, the ballcock raises and let pivot the gutter in the left barrel. 

We pump the water of this last barrel to prepare the herbal teas for our vines because they are more effective with non-chlorinated and not dirty water.

Today, picking & cutting of nettles to mix them with water.

After fermentation, this natural foliar fertilizer will be used to stimulate the vines’ growth because it contains nitrogen & iron. 

It’s the reason why we use it at the beginning of the growing season of the vines.

Our team is happy to announce, from the top of the big oak of Anthonic, that our wine estate is now ORGANIC CERTIFIED!

We are now sowing a green cover on our soils (every two rows to let a possibility of passing) in the whole vineyard.

To cover the soils is namely one of the pillars of agroecology. Plants and cereals will contribute to enrich and aerate the soils and favor the present fauna, all measures important for a living soil.

We use a blend of a lot of organic seeds.

Plant cover is good not only for ladybirds but also for soil's life and thus for the vines !

We use several blends of plants as plant cover like faba bean (on the pic with the ladybirds) mixed with vetch and triticale (ancien wheat).

They soon will be all rolled and left in the spot between the rows. When decomposing these plants will give organic matter and nitrogen to the soils. It's the reason why they are called "green fertillizer", they constitute a natural fertilizer.

You're welcome on 6th & 7th April for the open doors at château Anthonic, the occasion to visit our vineyard in 3rd year of conversion to organic viticulture and our plantations of vines in agroforestry (with trees).

Of course, there will be also a tasting of our wines! 

Many old varieties of peach trees, apple trees and pear trees cross from now on the parcel in front of the château. (Agroforestry)

What a symbol!

Planting today of the first trees integrating our vines (AGROFORESTRY) by the "Vignerons du Vivant", these young people becoming integrated through an "organic" training to the vines jobs.

We are reflecting on this project of agroforestry for a long time and have prepared it by leaving a space for the future trees when planting our last plots of vines. We are now so happy to see the trees (more in the next post).

    The hedges crossing our vineyards aim to create wildlife corridors connecting the wooded areas, which provide uninterrupted passageways for the fauna.

    Hedges are also refuges for birds and insects and relays for bats, all natural predators of vineyard pests.

    In autumn the hedges are besides a feast for the eyes! 

    Welcome to the bats!

    Present again in Anthonic, they constitute a natural alternative to insecticide as they are predators of some vineyard pests (eudémis and cochylis).

    The network of hedges crossing our vineyard and soon the trees planted in agroforestery aim precisely notably to create relays for the bats. They can thus orient themselves ultrasonically further and cover a larger hunting territory on the vineyard.

Just to show how beautiful is the press wine of vintage 2018, a vintage completely organic produced (if not yet certified) as we were in our second year of conversion to organic viticulture.

    Interesting to notice:

    The left pile of manure comes from a mushroom farm and contains therefore calcium.

    So can we hit 2 targets with 1 shot: to feed our soils before planting & to reduce the acidity of the ground when needed. 

Jean-Baptiste & Philomène have prepared a heap of stones as refuge for the reptiles living in our hedges through recycling pieces of limestone from a recently planted plot of vines. 

We're now entering the 3rd year of the conversion to the organic viticulture for our whole vineyard.

This challenge isn't always easy (in particular because of the oceanic climate) but we are very happy with our choice, for example whe we see the numerous and beautiful butterflies dancing in our vines !

A space of 4,5 meters has been left free in the midden of this recently planted plot of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Next autumn we're going to plant there a row of broad-leaves trees (mostly maple trees). Later they will be short pruned in order not to compete with the vines. 

This illustrates one of the advantages of agroforestry (planting trees in the vines): to produce, with the cut branches of the trees, biomass that will be transformed in humus, for a more living soil for the vines.

     Planting of our first parcel of vines in AGROFORESTRY, i.e. with trees.

     On the picture you can see that one row is missing in the middle. In autumn we'll plant there espaliered fruit trees. 

     The aims of the association vines/trees are in particular to give the protection of the trees to the vines (through mycorrhiza and micro-climate) and to the soils (fertility).

     It's also very gainful for the biodiversity, for example to give landmarks to bats that are also predators for some pests of the vines.

In this season lots of wild orchids are flowering in the ditches surrounding our vineyard, visible sign of biodiversity.

Here are some of them.

It's not a soup but a nettles manure that Philippe is preparing on the picture!

He mixes the nettles he has mowed with water. The blend is then covered to ferment protected from light. After a few days it will be filtered and used diluted with the next treatment of the vines.

The aim of the nettles manure is to support the growth of the vines and stimulate the microorganisms (bacteria etc..) of the soil.

Exciting training day for our team with Marceau Bourdarias on the "green work" (crown suckering, trimming of the vines). 

These spring work prepare actually already the pruning of next winter.

Marceau explained us how to favour the sustainability of the vineyard and the quality of the crops, notably with respect of the sap flux of the vines.

    The green manure we have sown to structure, enrich and aerate the soil in the vines and therefore make it more alive is now in flowers. There are the mustard and its beautiful yellow flowers but also the broad bean whose flowers are probably delicious because they attract and treat a lot of bees. 

    At this time Anthonic rhymes with bucolic ! 

Der Gründünger, den wir im Herbst gepflanzt haben (mehr darüber in der vorigen Aktualität), ist jetzt floriert!

In dieser Mischung von Pflanzen gibt es Senf mit jetzt sehr schönen gelben Blumen...

Der Gründünger, den wir im Herbst gepflanzt haben (mehr darüber in der vorigen Aktualität), ist jetzt floriert!

In dieser Mischung von Pflanzen gibt es Senf mit jetzt sehr schönen gelben Blumen...

   This autumn we have sowed a "plant cover", each other row to let the tractor go on working on the row with grass.

   It’s a mixing of three types of plants (cereal, leguminous and cruciferous plants) whose effects on the ground and the vines are complementary.

   The goals of this planting are: to structure the ground, to enrich it with the nitrogen fixed by the leguminous plants and with the nutrient released by the cruciferous plants and to aerate it in depth thanks to the roots of these plants.

It’s a fact: diseases able to harm the vines do exist since the end of the 19th century. In the region of Bordeaux, the oceanic climate make the vine particularly sensitive to fungal diseases, mildew and powdery mildew, that are microscopic fungus affecting the leaves and/or the grapes.

The vines must thus be treated; if not, there is no crop.

The conventional option (that is not-organic) favours chemical treatments known as “systemic”, what means that they get into the sap of the plant. These products have an action on the plant for 15 days; thereafter, they must be renewed.

The organic viticulture use only products that don’t stem from the chemical synthesis (for example the traditional “Bordeaux mixture”) and that are “contact products”, what means that they stay and protect the leaves and the grapes until they are “washed out” by an important rain.

In the organic way, the frequency of treatments depends thus on the weather (more often, if they are more “washing out” rains) and on the stage of the growth of the vines (you should treat as long as new leaves come). If the summer is dry, it’s therefore useless to renew the protection when the growth of the vines is stabilized, that is, in general, end of July.

After 16 years of rigorous work at château Anthonic, Jean-Bernard Despatures, our technical manager, leaves us to become one of the partners of a winery in Belgium. He made possible our conversion to organic viticulture thanks to his precise knowledge of our vines and terroir and thanks to his enthusiasm. Thank you!

Welcome to Emmanuel Chety who succeeds him. Emmanuel is a very curious man, always wishing to learn more and to get more training, and above all he is passionate about organic viticulture, that he knows well, as he has been practicing it for more than 6 years on the 40ha winery of his family.

His experience will be precious for Anthonic during the delicate period of the conversion to organic.

The frost ravaged almost 100% of our vineyard. Looking forward to the resumption of the activity of the vines and, perhaps, the emergence of new buds, what can we do?

With Albane Bervas, our adviser for the organic, we discover the “organic-attitude”. Albane explains us that the vines, after such a stress, need the benevolent and friendly hand of the human being. She recommends us to have compassion for the vines and to trust them. This BIODYNAMIC APPROACH fill us with wonder. We understand that the conversion to organic is not only a paradigm shift (from healing to prevention); it’s also a life philosophy.

In concrete terms, we’ve to be kindly in spirit with the vines and take care of their stress and our stress with the same infusion of valerian (see the picture!).

This year we initiate at château Anthonic sexual confusion. No obscenity but a good practice to avoid the use of insecticide against the worm of the cluster.

Capsules scattered in the vineyard emit pheromones which cause confusion among the butterflies. Males and females of the 2 species laying on the vine are no longer able to locate them, which limits their reproduction. The bosses larvae on bunches are so limited. This avoids the driving of grains by the caterpillars and the problems of grey rot likely to settle on these wounds.

At the end of the season the unsightly capsules are recovered.

In fact, the conversion to organic viticulture has no impact on the usual work of the vines in winter, except that we prune them on a plowed soil. Now like before, the pruning work, with a careful respect of the structure of the vine stocks, keeps our team busy for nearly 4 months.

The only effect of our conversion came oddly from our insurance agent, when we concluded our insurance against hail and frost. His reaction was timid and cautious. The discussion went about the potential increased risks due to the new way of growing.

But, as always between people of good faith, we ended up finding a solution satisfactory for all.

To help us in the fundamental change of the conversion, we appeal to Albane Bervas, a specialist in organic viticulture.

She comes to château Anthonic each month to watch our vines.

Thanks to her experience and her passion for organic, she makes recommendations on the aspects we should pay attention to keep our vines healthy and surrounded by a living nature (fauna and flora).

Das Terroir von Château Anthonic ist lehm- und kalkhaltig. Auf diesen schweren Böden war die Unkrautvernichtung Pflicht, damit der Traktor nach dem Regen eine Chance hatte, durchzukommen. 

Relativ schnell haben wir eine natürliche Begrünung zwischen den Rebzeilen angestrebt, um möglichst wenig Herbizide einzusetzen. Diese wurden ausschließlich unter den Rebstöcken weiter verwendet.

Die Umstellung zum ökologischen Weinbau hatte ab dem Herbst 2016 zur logischen Folge, die Rückkehr des Pflügens unter den Rebstöcken.

Und nun: AKTION!

Der Übergang zum ökologischen Weinbau fordert einen Paradigmenwechsel. Zusammengefasst bedeutet es einen Wandel vom Heilen zum Vorbeugen.

Die Logik der Pflege eines kranken Weinbergs wird ad acta gelegt, um der Idee zu folgen, dass ein gesunder Weinberg auf natürliche Weise resistent gegen Krankheiten ist.

Die Zeit der Umstellung ist ein heikler Prozess, da der Weinberg jetzt ohne synthetische Hilfsmittel seine natürliche Widerstandsfähigkeit aufbauen muss.

Es ist ein Wandel der Sichtweise, ähnlich wie bei dem Steinkauz, den wir im Zimmer unseres Sohnes Henri gefunden