COVER CROPS
For several years, we have chosen to stop mechanical weeding between the vine rows. Every vineyard is sown in autumn with grass plants between the rows, creating a natural protective carpet.
This technique helps retain water in the soil by reducing evaporation and limiting erosion. The cover crop also promotes biological activity by increasing organic matter, leading to richer, more resilient soil.
Finally, cover cropping is one of our initiatives to enhance the biodiversity essential to our vineyard.
With a variety of plants accompanying them, the vines awaken in spring a little less alone.
SHEEP IN OUR VINEYARDS…
In 2024, we are launching a new partnership with a shepherd from La Motte, who will graze 200 sheep within the plots of Château Sainte Roseline’s vineyard.
This collaboration between shepherd and winegrower is called vitipastoralism, which involves grazing animals such as sheep within vineyards. It also creates a mutual exchange of services: shepherds and their flocks need spontaneous grazing areas, especially in winter.
In return, hosting these animals brings many benefits.
Sheep grazing around and between the vine rows help maintain healthy soil. By trampling, they aerate it and improve air and water circulation.
They eat the grass and weeds growing between the vines, preventing the spread of diseases and pests while providing natural fertilizer. They also eliminate the need for mowing after winter.
In turn, the vines provide food through spontaneous grass cover and the cover crops we sow.
All of this creates a favorable environment for local fauna and flora, promoting biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Benefits for the shepherd: access to grazing land, delaying the need to move flocks to higher altitudes, and no need for additional fodder. Urban pressure in the Var region makes finding fallow land difficult.
Benefits for the estate: mowing without tractors, meaning no CO₂ emissions or soil compaction, and sheep droppings serve as natural fertilizer.