“Alone we go faster, together we go further”
This African proverb applies perfectly to the Oé philosophy. Yes, Oé is above all a big family and when one of our members needs support, we are there to help. The Oé winegrowers work every day to promote organic agriculture , which is more responsible and concerned about the environment, and to produce good organic wines . And since small victories and big advances don't happen alone, we had an idea. We've already told you about our Oé Program for Biodiversity , haven't we? Today we tell you more in detail with good news to celebrate: Oé is partnering with EcoFarms and the crowdfunding platform MiiMOSA to support Oé winegrowers who wish to improve biodiversity in their vines.
Thanks to everyone's action, we are sure that we are contributing to making our planet a better place. Yes, don't leave, you too can play a role in making our earth greener. We will explain everything to you !
The Oé program for biodiversity
As you know, at Oé we like to push the envelope as far as possible in our mission to do good with good! The Oé Program for Biodiversity extends our commitment to produce good organic wine , with the AB label, pesticide-free and with returnable bottles that respect the environment.
With this program, we inform you about the benefits of biodiversity for our environment. We help Oé winegrowers to complete their sustainable viticulture approach and we support them in carrying out their projects.
Concretely, how do we do it?
To grow our project as we grow good organic wine, we decided to devote 1% of our turnover to our program .
We make the general public aware of farming techniques that are not harmful to the planet and we offer Oé winegrowers an analysis of the existing situation and areas for improvement, via EcoFarms, to help them go ever further with simple and concrete actions.
It is a project that is thought out and carried out together, from start to finish. And yes, at Oé, we believe that unity is strength. This is why we have surrounded ourselves with two strong partners to carry out our mission: EcoFarms and MiiMOSA .
EcoFarms and MiiMOSA, strong partners for our winegrowers
EcoFarms is the premier sustainability rating agency for farms. She visits farms such as vineyards to analyze their ecosystems and supports winegrowers in their sustainable development approach. She follows them for 4 months using an evaluation methodology that she develops upstream. Thanks to this method, winegrowers effectively monitor and measure their initiatives. After the evaluation phase, EcoFarms draws up an assessment and makes agro-environmental recommendations to promote biodiversity in the vineyard.
MiiMOSA is a crowdfunding platform , which is dedicated to agriculture and food . It is Florian Breton, grandson of a winegrower, who is the founder. Aware of the importance of agriculture for the challenges of tomorrow, he has developed this platform to facilitate the ecological transition of agricultural plots. MiiMOSA allows us to set up campaigns and concrete actions to develop biodiversity in the vines of our winegrowers . Like all crowdfunding platforms, each person participates in the financing of a project in exchange for consideration.
Today, we support our winegrowers Franck and Véronique in Pujols thanks to the Program to develop biodiversity in their vines.
Winegrowers very committed to biodiversity
Franck and Véronique met at agricultural school . For them, organic was obvious. In 2006, they bought their estate at age 25. 15 years later, they produce our delicious red Bordeaux, fruity and silky, to uncork for any occasion. Their wine is a blend of Merlot , Cabernet and Malbec , which gives the wine spicy notes while remaining light. Something to delight the taste buds and the finest palets!
Franck and Véronique do not do things by halves, for them the good through the good is essential. They plant hedges , put green manures between rows of vines and leave areas of plant density to allow diversity to develop. They have sheep, ducks and chickens which help them in their work every day. The hens clean the vines and the sheep are used to regulate the vegetation by naturally mowing the plots. This is called the lambskin . Yes, it makes us smile too, but this practice does exist and it is also a good alternative to the use of mechanical tools. Sheep do not pollute, they do not run on gasoline and do not break down in the middle of a field. It's great, don't you think? A little herbs on the horizon and vroom, they feast while the winegrowers get down to other tasks. Everyone wins.
Our two winegrowers participate in the Oé Program and benefit from EcoFarms ' analysis to push their initiatives even further. This analysis gave them a good score according to their evaluation model and the agency offered them recommendations to push the envelope even further. Franck and Véronique aim to increase the number of hedgerows in their plot and develop a line of agroforestry. Agroforestry, hedgerows, biodiversity … Does all this mean anything to you? Don't panic, we'll explain everything to you!
Topo on agroforestry and biodiversity
Agroforestry is the fact of linking a culture such as the vine with the planting of trees to provide useful services to the farm. You can plant isolated trees , small shrubs and herbaceous areas between the rows of vines or hedges at the edge of the field . The hedge is a plant border composed of different levels or strata which delimits a production. The country hedge is a hedge that consists of trees of different sizes and species. If you want to know more about hedges, we explain everything here!
The practice of agroforestry aims to preserve nature. The vegetation in the vines has the effect of nourishing the soil with water , limiting erosion and protecting the vines against bad weather. Trees act as a natural shield and climate regulator and block the effects of wind, drought, frost and neighboring chemicals. The tall trees act as windbreaks and shade the plantations, the roots recycle water and moisten the soil. Trees even manage to increase soil fertility by bringing organic matter to the earth such as dead leaves. You got it, we would need an entire article to explain the benefits of agroforestry . That's good, we have one that explains everything in detail here!
When we plant trees , we develop biodiversity in the vine . Biodiversity is the total diversity of an ecosystem . In the vineyards, biodiversity is plant but also animal. By creating favorable living conditions for the animals, the latter invest the vines where they find food and shelter. We come across birds and bats in the trees and insects on the ground. These cultivation auxiliaries contribute to the vitality of the vine. Crop auxiliaries are species that help the vine through their action. Predators regulate the presence of other harmful species called pests, bees pollinate crops. The benefits of biodiversity are numerous for winegrowers, do you want to learn more about this subject? This is where it's happening!
Our winegrowers need you
Franck and Véronique have the ambition to plant 700 meters of country hedges and a 350 meter agroforestry line . The tree species in the line of sight are hazelnuts and maples and as far as the agroforestry line is concerned, there will be crab apples, oaks and almonds in particular. To plant all this, they need to work the soil well, to do uprooting, digging and earthworks.
The aim of this initiative is to offer a balance between the different elements of their plot: the vines, the trees, the water, the fauna and the flora. With this project, we are participating in the development of biodiversity and making our planet greener while helping our winegrowers in their daily lives.
We chose the MiiMOSA platform and each donation is matched according to the amount paid: birdhouses, box of Oé wine bottles , and many other rewards...
If you are reading this article today, you probably value organic farming and the importance of biodiversity to the planet. We offer you today the opportunity to put your stone to the building and to make our vines greener, more diverse, more alive. Viticulture has its role to play as a leading agricultural practice. By promoting the ecological transition of our plots, we are helping to make our planet more beautiful!
