“Alone we go faster, together we go further”
This African proverb perfectly reflects the Oé philosophy. Yes, Oé is first and foremost a large family, and when one of our members needs support, we are there to help. Oé winemakers work every day to promote organic farming, which is more responsible and environmentally conscious, and to produce good organic wines. And since small victories and major advances don't happen on their own, we had an idea. We have already told you about our Oé Biodiversity Program, haven't we? Today we are telling you more about it with some good news to celebrate: Oé is partnering with EcoFarms and the MiiMOSA crowdfunding platform to support Oé winemakers who wish to improve biodiversity in their vineyards.
Thanks to everyone's efforts, we are sure that we are helping to make our planet better. Yes, don't go away, you too can play a role in making our earth greener. We will explain everything!
The Oé Biodiversity Program
As you know, at Oé we like to go as far as possible in our mission to do good through good! The Oé Biodiversity Program extends our commitment to producing good organic wine, AB certified, pesticide-free and in an environmentally friendly returnable bottle.
With this program, we inform you about the benefits of biodiversity for our environment. We help Oé winemakers to fully pursue their sustainable viticulture approach and support them in carrying out their projects.
So, how do we do it?
To make our project flourish as we make good organic wine flourish, we have decided to dedicate 1% of our turnover to our program.
We raise public awareness about non-harmful farming techniques for the planet and offer Oé winemakers an assessment of existing practices and areas for improvement, via EcoFarms, to help them go even further with simple and concrete actions.
It is a project that is conceived and carried out together, from start to finish. And yes, at Oé, we believe that unity is strength. That is why we have surrounded ourselves with two major partners to carry out our mission: EcoFarms and MiiMOSA.
EcoFarms and MiiMOSA, great partners for our winemakers
EcoFarms is the leading sustainability assessment agency for farms. It visits farms such as vineyards to analyze their ecosystems and support winemakers in their sustainable development approach. It follows them for 4 months using an assessment methodology it develops beforehand. Thanks to this method, winemakers can effectively monitor and measure their initiatives. After the assessment phase, EcoFarms draws up a report and makes agro-environmental recommendations to promote biodiversity in the vineyard.
MiiMOSA is a crowdfunding platform dedicated to agriculture and food. It was founded by Florian Breton, a winemaker's grandson. Aware of the importance of agriculture for the challenges of tomorrow, he developed this platform to facilitate the ecological transition of agricultural plots. MiiMOSA allows us to set up concrete campaigns and actions to develop the biodiversity in the vineyards of our winemakers. Like all crowdfunding platforms, each person participates in financing a project in exchange for rewards.
Today, we are supporting our winemakers Franck and Véronique in Pujols thanks to the Program to develop biodiversity in their vineyards.
Winemakers deeply committed to biodiversity
Franck and Véronique met at agricultural high school. For them, organic farming was a natural choice. In 2006, they bought their estate at the age of 25. 15 years later, they produce our delicious red Bordeaux, fruity and silky, perfect for any occasion. Their wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet and Malbec, which gives the wine spicy notes while remaining light. Enough to delight the taste buds and the most discerning palates!
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Franck and Véronique don't do things by halves; for them, doing good through good is paramount. They plant hedges, use green manure between the rows of vines and leave areas of dense vegetation to allow diversity to develop. They have sheep, ducks and chickens that help them with their work every day. The chickens clean the vineyards and the sheep help manage the vegetation by naturally mowing the plots. This is what we call sheep grazing. Yes, it makes us smile too, but this practice really exists and is also a good alternative to using mechanical tools. Sheep don't pollute, they don't run on gasoline and they don't break down in the middle of a field. It's great, don't you think? A little grass on the horizon and zoom, they feast while the growers tackle other tasks. Everyone wins.
Our two winemakers participate in the Oé Program and benefit from EcoFarms's assessment to take their initiatives even further. This assessment gave them a good score according to their assessment model and the agency offered them recommendations to take things even further. Franck and Véronique aim to increase the number of field hedges in their plot and develop an agroforestry line. Agroforestry, field hedges, biodiversity… Does any of this sound familiar? Don't worry, we will explain everything!
An overview of agroforestry and biodiversity
Agroforestry is the practice of combining a crop such as the vine with the planting of trees to provide useful services to the farm. We can plant isolated trees, small shrubs and herbaceous areas between the rows of vines or hedges along the edge of the land. A hedge is a plant border composed of different levels or layers that delimits a production area. A field hedge is a hedge composed of trees of different sizes and species. If you want to learn more about hedges, we explain everything here!
The practice of agroforestry aims to preserve nature. Vegetation in the vineyards helps to nourish the soils with water, limit erosion and protect the vines against extreme weather. Trees act as a natural shield and climate regulator and block the effects of wind, drought, frost and neighboring chemicals. Large trees have a windbreak effect and provide shade to the plantations, while their roots recycle water and moisten the soils. Trees can even increase soil fertility by bringing organic matter to the earth, such as fallen leaves. As you can see, we would need an entire article to explain the benefits of agroforestry. Fortunately, we have one right here that explains everything in detail!
When we plant trees, we develop biodiversity in the vineyard. Biodiversity is the overall diversity of an ecosystem. In the vineyards, biodiversity is both plant and animal. By creating favorable living conditions for animals, they move into the vineyards where they find food and shelter. We find birds and bats in the trees and insects on the ground. These beneficial insects contribute to the vitality of the vineyard. Beneficial insects are species that help the vineyard through their actions. Predators regulate the presence of other harmful species called pests, bees pollinate the crops. Biodiversity offers many benefits for winemakers; do you want to learn more about this subject? That is where you can find out!
Our winemakers need you
Franck and Véronique aim to plant 700 meters of field hedges and a 350-meter agroforestry line. The tree species they have in mind are hazelnut trees and maples and as for the agroforestry line, it will notably include wild apple trees, oaks and almond trees. To plant all this, they need to work the soil well, carry out pulling, hoeing and earthmoving work.
The goal of this initiative is to create a balance between the different elements of their plot: the vine, the trees, water, wildlife and plants. With this project, we are helping to develop biodiversity and make our planet greener while helping our winemakers in their daily work.
We chose the MiiMOSA platform, and each donation comes with a reward depending on the amount contributed: birdhouses, sets of bottles of Oé wine, and many other rewards…
If you are reading this article today, you probably care about organic farming and the importance of biodiversity for the planet. Today, we are offering you the opportunity to do your part and make our vineyards greener, more diverse, and more vibrant. Viticulture has a role to play as a leading agricultural practice. By supporting the ecological transition of our plots, we are helping to make our planet more beautiful!
