Ecological sustainability in action

environmental challenges | article 3

Ecological sustainability in action

23.15.2022
Complementary views

If there is one thing at the heart of our concerns, it's nature. Nature is everywhere. And we owe it everything. The characteristic of a cultural activity is to be dependent on its natural environment, its uncertainties, its alterations.

Preserving it is not just a trend or even a rule, it is an absolute necessity. We are not simple spectators of the landscape that surrounds us, we are also its actors. It is up to us, day after day, year after year, to act so as to ensure its sustainability.

At the time of her arrival at Troplong Mondot in 1981, Christine Valette represented the property’s fourth generation. Contrary to the flamboyant state of mind of the time, she realized that she had to remain humble. It was her duty to ensure the preservation of the heritage that she had received and to pass it on in turn as it did not belong to her, she was its temporary guardian.

Beyond the notion of transmission, she also realized that the environment in which the vineyard thrives has a direct impact on the quality of the wine. Ecological efforts had to be a priority: she took biodiversity promoting initiatives, convinced that wine-growing is only worthwhile if its environment is sustainable.

Today SCOR, owner of Troplong Mondot, has the same vision, its reinsurance business making it particularly sensitive to climate change and the risks it entails. Its commitments in favor of biodiversity are at the heart of its strategy, as evidenced by its membership to Act4nature International (an association which aims to mobilize companies about their impacts and the options available to them to preserve nature). It encourages the mobilization of all energies so as to strengthen and accelerate the initiatives led by Troplong Mondot for the last 30 years and to study further transformative projects. Everyone here is acting massively and quickly with positive and unconditional ambition.

The first stage of the ecological effort began in the 1990s: hedgerows were planted on the property, now nearly a kilometer long. Combined with the 2,000 meters of beautifully maintained and restored dry stone walls and the boundaries of the woods, they act as a refuge for small animals. In addition to this is the chateau’s land, the trees of which have always been preserved since its creation in 1700. Its 2.5 hectares are home to numerous species, and several hundred-year-old specimens. Together these elements constitute carbon sinks, favorable to the development of a varied ecosystem.

The counts carried out by the LPO (League for the protection of birds) in 2020 testify to this wealth: around thirty species of birds have been listed, as well as butterflies, bees, rabbits, squirrels, hedgehogs … the work of a diverse and vibrant natural environment.

Two permaculture and organic vegetable gardens complete the system. They also illustrate concern for the environment and the desire to enhance resources and diversity by creating abundance.

Of course, viticulture, the heart of our activity, also embodies this ecological awareness. In this perspective, the reasoned management of the vineyard takes on its full significance. It is about cultivating with logic and discernment, considering the wine-growing activity in a broader context.

As of 2000, all herbicide products were banned, soon followed by insecticides and anti-botrytis. The winegrowers have not used any chemical fertilizers since 2002, preferring green manures beneficial to the growth of the vines and the development of the auxiliary fauna. Through our collaboration since 2008 with Claude and Lydia Bourguignon, world-renowned specialists in soil microbiology, an even finer knowledge of the terroir has made it possible to further improve wine-growing practices.

In addition, animal traction has been used for tillage since 2009. The precise paths used by the horses reduce compaction and promote microbial life while limiting tractor use. With these measures, the soils, rich and alive, are cooler, better oxygenated and less eroded, for the obvious good of the vineyard and the natural ensemble that the property represents.

"By combining collective and individual actions, Troplong Mondot is resolutely committed to a more responsible future, placing nature more than ever at the heart of its activity."

These initiatives promote biodiversity. They are necessary but appear insufficient when it comes to preserving the ecosystem: they must be accompanied by a significant limitation of the overall impact of the activity on the environment. Concretely, the employees of Troplong Mondot, from the winemaker to the accountant and the kitchen clerk, are all particularly committed to achieving zero waste (including for its suppliers) by using reusable, recyclable, biodegradable materials or by composting organic waste and restaurant waste.

Finally, so as to drastically reduce its impact, Troplong Mondot is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, according to the objectives laid out by the United Nations. Energy optimization of HEQ (High Environmental Quality) certified buildings, home automation, bottle weight reflection, limitation of air transport, etc. are examples of our day-to-day initiatives.

The most innovative consists of using plant biomass for heating. Thanks to several years of research, today, the pruning residues, one of the vines’ “by-products”, are crushed and transformed into pellets before being fed into the boilers. This undertaking, a first in the Bordeaux region, has been used to heat all of the property’s buildings since 2019 and can now be shared with the town of Saint-Emilion and other properties. All these measures allow Troplong Mondot to be the first French wine property to join the IWCA (International Wineries for Climate Action), which works to reduce the carbon footprint in the wine industry.