Organic farming, sustainable development, wine making

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 farmed under organic standards. It is certified as such by an independent organization (Veritas), and all wines bear the AB label (Agriculture Biologique). 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.

Since January 1st, 2004, Domaine Guizard is also certified as NOP (National Organic Program USA) and Bourgeon Bio Suisse, labels equivalent in those two countries to the AB label (Agriculture Biologique) of the European Union.

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.

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). On our reds it is also around 100 mg/L (maximum allowed for organic label: 150). 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.