Oppenheim / Dijon The partnership between Rhineland-Palatinate and the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region dates back to 1962, making it the oldest partnership between French and German regions. This long-standing cooperation has proved its worth in many areas, and has intensified over the last ten years, particularly in the eld of organic viticulture.
From 16 to 18 July, a small delegation from Rhineland-Palatinate was welcomed to Chablis and Macon. Numerous discussions and presentations focused on the latest developments in organic winegrowing, including plant protection up to 2024, soil monitoring and functioning, organic matter management, and tools and levers for adapting to climate change: planting material, agroforestry, regenerative winegrowing. It was precisely on the subject of plant protection that it became apparent that French and German winegrowers were faced with the same problems and extreme pressure conditions. In this area, the German side was able to share its 20 years of positive experience with potassium phosphonate. This product has not been available to organic winegrowers for 10 years. The question of its authorization for organic viticulture, under conditions that remain to be specified in years such as 2024, was raised.
Both pares emphasized that reliable plant protection is essential in organic viticulture. Representatives from the Ministry of the Environment in Mainz and the organic associations Bioland, Naturland and ECOVIN (organizers of the exchange on the German side) were present. Coordinated by the GIP Bourgogne Vigne et Vin, the French side of the exchange included the Chambers of Agriculture of Yonne and Saône-et-Loire, the Vinipôle Sud Bourgogne, the Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins du Jura, the Conseil Régional de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the Université de Bourgogne and the Agro-Bio Campus Davayé.
During these discussions, various projects were presented, and Florian Humbert also gave a presentation of the European Shield4Grape project to the regional and Rhineland-Palatinate partners.
Georg Forster, Federal President of ECOVIN, sums up: ‘What we have in common is a passion for our vineyard soils, millions of years old, which give rise to our wines with their marvelous nuances and multiple facets. The Franco-German wine culture is an important link between our two nations.
Florian Humbert, Director of the GIP Bourgogne Vigne et Vin, comments: ‘We are delighted to be able to reactivate this cooperation, and these two days of exchanges underline both the importance of the challenges facing the regional winegrowing and winemaking industries in the current context, which are undergoing profound changes in practices, and the dynamism of the players in these industries – producers, technicians and researchers – to experiment and produce new knowledge with a view to reconciling the environmental and economic objectives of the transitions and adaptations underway. With its share of difficulties and trials, the 2024 campaign highlights the common nature of these challenges for both regions and the relevance of sharing and advancing jointly on their technical, economic and regulatory issues’.
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