The vines that we grow are located on a rolled sandstone pebbles quaternary soil, which generates low yields and an early maturity of the grapes. The clay subsurface, associated with the sea breeze, ensures a good water feed of the plant in a warm and dry climate, which will give the wines their freshness, a strong cellaring potential and a mastered power.
The whole vineyard is driven under organic farming, the whites and the rosés already bearing the AB label whereas the reds are in their last year of organic transition. Our objective is to get a grape as healthy as possible, while respecting the ecological balance of the area, and to that effect:
- vines are ploughed at least twice a year in order to obtain far reaching roots, and thus be nurtured from deep underground,
- we only use phytosanitary products made out of nature, no herbicide, no synthetic product.
The main varieties of grapes on the vineyard are:
- for the higher range wines on AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) fields - Languedoc, Saint Georges d'Orques, and Grés de Montpellier : syrah, grenache, carignan, mourvèdre, roussane, vermentino,
- for the country wines under the Vins de Pays d'Oc appellation: cabernet-sauvignon, cinsault, chardonnay.
Most vines are grown with trellised cord, but some old ones are not. We are retrellising the whole AOC area in order to place the leaves at maximum height, and thus collect grapes with greater phenolic maturity (colour more intense and tannins more rounded). Our goal is to drive the grapes to optimum maturity, while tempering the impact of our actions on the environment, hence on the preservation of the soil.
Furthermore, since 2017, the whole vineyard has been certified HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale) level 3 (the highest level). This certification is built around four criteria:
- biodiversity
- phytosanitary strategy
- fertilization management
- management of water resources
It involves the whole estate, and it is controlled by independent auditors registered by the ministry of agriculture.
Domaine Guizard was one of the first domaines in Occitanie to get this certificate.
In our work at the cellar, we master the transformation processes to make well balanced, round, dry, and yet fruity wines, that can withstand transport and storage over long periods of time, while avoiding to distort them, within the strict respect of organic norms. Total acidity in our wines is around 3.5 pH for the reds, and 3.3 pH for the rosés and the whites (reminder: neutrality = 7.0 pH). The rate of residual sugar is less than 2 gr/L on all our wines. Sulfur content (SO2) on our whites and rosés is around 100 mg/L (maximum allowed by regulations for organic label: 150, for conventional production: 200). On our reds it is also around 100 mg/L (maximum allowed for organic label: 150, for conventional production: 180). We are therefore way below the most restrictive norms.
Our vinification techniques are detailed for each wine in the section "The Wines" of this website, by clicking on the photograph of the wine you are considering.