Natural wine, organic wine?

Why did you choose to distribute only natural, organic, or even biodynamic wines?

Above all, for oneself. Indeed, if one does not build a house which one hopes it will last 100 years by using bad materials; it is the same for us. Our bodies are made up of the different nutrients that we ingest, and being healthy means being careful about what we eat. As fresh as possible, as little modified as possible and as long as possible with a variety of tastes ...

Wine is a processed product, in theory only fermented grape juice. But if the juice is not of high quality, there are many additives that will help make this juice drinkable. We all remember poor quality wines, which left us with a headache or an acidity problem. It is not this type of wine that you will find in our catalog. The products we distribute have been carefully selected, they are the fruit of the work of passionate people who think about what they produce and how they produce it.

Over the course of the various scandals in the agro-food sector, no one can no longer ignore that certain practices are not put in place for the consumer but to increase the profits of a handful of companies: the food majors, but also seed companies and chemists.

Why has there been a boom in intensive agriculture? Initially for very laudable intentions, after the Second World War, it was necessary to increase productivity at all costs to feed populations in full demographic growth. This necessity accompanied by the development of miracle molecules, fertilizers and pesticides; and the mechanization of agriculture, which has increased productivity in extraordinary proportions. It was also the birth of the giants of the agro-industrial sector, who have constantly pushed for productivity. These developments were made to the detriment of the quality of the products. No research into taste quality or nutrient content. The price of the products is expressed by weight and not by its value to the human body. There followed a uniformity of taste and the development of junk food. This junk food and burgers available to all were the great success of modern agriculture. Calories were now available to everyone.

 Beyond the public health concerns related to an unbalanced diet, the addition of the use of miracle molecules is now presented to us in the form of all kinds of good things like cancer and company but also for example Parkinson's disease, recognized as occupational disease among farmers in France. This last information has a particular resonance for me who works in a research center on Parkinson's and some colleagues of which study the disease by giving pesticides to cell cultures of neurons ...

 On the environmental side, the results are also disastrous, with soils that resemble the moon. Below, a series of images taken in May 2016 in Champagne, rest assured, these are not our producers ...

 

 

Well there is no weed so what?

There is no grass, but the soil is compact, hard as concrete and completely dead. While we traveled for miles in the vines, we encountered very few insects, birds, ... while it is spring!

Do we care as long as the champagne is good?

Maybe, but it's going fast. The ravaged soil prevents adequate development of the vine. A compact soil, hard as concrete with almost zero biodiversity. And those invisible helpers of insects and other bacteria are no longer there to do the thankless job of providing nutrients to plants. The roots of vines cannot develop freely. It follows the need to resort to more and more treatment to eliminate insects, fungi, ... endless infernal cycle that only allows the vine to produce grapes poor in nutrients and unbalanced.

There is no miracle, the juice in the cellar will also give something of poor quality. And the producer to rely on the oenologist, who in close collaboration with the product distributors will supply chemicals, enzymes and other aromatic yeasts in an attempt to make something drinkable. The more the years pass, the more the soil is degraded, and the more additives must multiply to compensate. Is it any wonder that you have a headache after tasting these "wines"?

Aware that what we have in the glass comes from the earth, all of the wines offered by Ovino are organic.

 

Here, for comparison, are some pictures of one of our estates, also in spring: Castello di Tassarolo. 

Where would you go for a walk?  In Champagne or here?

Titouan and Henry working the soil

Rufus in action in the sun ...

 

If you want to know more about the importance of soils, take a look at the writings of Claude and Lydia Bourgignon: http://www.lams-21.com/artc/1/fr/

 

Why biodynamics, natural wine, ...?

Organic is on the rise, more and more consumers are willing to pay a little more, in the hope of consuming healthier products. As a result, the marginalized who have chosen this sector are joined by manufacturers who also see financial opportunities here. Based on recommendations from industry, organic specifications are put under pressure to provide more flexibility on certain concepts.  

Little by little, we no longer find our way around organic. It becomes necessary to learn about the producer to know exactly what his philosophy is. Is someone convinced by organic or an opportunist?

What difference can it make? In theory none. However, in practice, we have found that the opportunist allows himself certain shortcuts and sometimes even adds unauthorized products in bad years.

How is it possible ? If the producer is organic, he is certified so we do analyzes? Yes, but you still have to know what to look for and when. The means of certification bodies are not infinite, we cannot analyze everything all the time.

It is therefore difficult to have confidence in your supplier, unless you try to get to know him and understand his convictions. This is what we do during our visits: we discuss the products but also on nature, the place of man on earth, which has prompted a producer to move towards organic, biodynamic. each time, there are wonderful exchanges, and for us the opportunity to probe what is behind the facade.

It follows a very demanding selection of producers, for each producer selected for our catalog, many others are discarded, even organic or biodynamic. Indeed, Ovino has chosen to work only with winegrowers determined to produce the most authentic wines possible, who put the quality of the grape at the center of their reflection to avoid artifices.

 

Take care of yourself, all our winegrowers are organic!

The vast majority of our winegrowers go beyond organic, and practice biodynamics… you will find the biodynamic mention next to the bottles concerned.

What is biodynamics?

Agricultural technique or philosophy? Hard to say. In biodynamics, the agricultural domain is regarded with a lot of respect, a bit like a living organism, it is cultivated with the fewest inputs possible, it promotes biodiversity and we use diluted plant preparations that we spray to strengthen plants, depending on the position of the stars ... make up your own mind and document yourself, it is never too early to learn new things, to soak up new points of view.

Just like homeopathy or osteopathy, we don't really know why or how, but it works. In practice, it is a question of cultivating by following the cycles of the stars. There are leaf days and root days, depending on what you want to do, for example planting carrots, it is better to wait for a root day. Son of a lumberjack, I remember a discussion with my father who explained to me that the elders wishing to make furniture only cut wood at a specific period of the year, when the sap was at its lowest, in order to obtain the best woods. At the time, we took the time to experience and understand nature.

If in organic farming we try not to damage nature, in biodynamics we improve it. In biodynamics, the biodiversity of each element constituting the biosphere is favored. Whether it's insects or even soil bacteria. 

You can think what you want with biodynamics, on the other hand we forbid you to doubt the dedication and the efforts made by our winegrowers. Indeed, preparing decoctions of cow dung, forcing oneself to follow the lunar calendars, and working a lot to always be as close as possible to the vines requires colossal courage and passion. This passion continues once the grapes have returned to the cellar. We want to limit inputs as much as possible and therefore, we work more, we take a little risk but we provide an exceptional product.

Uh, and then do you know that Romanée Conti, the most expensive Burgundy wine in the world, is biodynamic? Like what there are not only esoteric poets who believe in this method of cultivation, so in your lunar calendars for your vegetable garden?

Biodynamics is respect for the environment, respect for the soil, respect for plants, and of course respect for the final product.

What better material than biodynamic wine to build you?