the origins of green
Before we ever got a certification, we had an idea. What is the point of producing a wonderful wine if we do it in a way that lays the land waste? We wanted to see the land, the place, the community all well and alive. We still do. We believe, that a sustainable philosophy does this better. We have been certified as “Viticulture Durable en Champagne” since 2016 to drive this process forward year after year. We would like to share more of this approach with you in the next paragraphs.
The certification was an important step for us. But we do not stop there. In 2021, we began our conversion to become fully organic. This means that our grapes will be certified organic in 2024. We continue to run our company in a way that balances organic viticulture with social and economic sustainability. Furthermore, we like to dig into ideas from the circular economic circuit rather than a traditional growth economy only. However, the company must make money too, it is a living for our family and for the family of our employee.
In Soulières, the philosophy of sustainability is put in use everywhere. In the vineyards, but also in the house and in the surrounding garden. The core of it is to use what has value and not use more than necessary. We like the quietness of the countryside, but we also appreciate the many ways we can act here, and we want the place to radiate this. It is a lot about will, and this cannot be certified anywhere.
Once you begin to move, there is not going back really, no looking behind. We have lots of doubts on specific targets and how to reach them, but never on the direction.
the collectivity – the individuality
The profession of Champagne is regulated on a collective level with the rules of the appellation (AOC in France, AOP in the EU). This means that we cannot decide fully how we want to work in the vineyards or in the winery. Sometimes this pushes us to change our methods. Sometimes, we think that the rules are not as extensive as we would like. However, we can always challenge ourselves and do more but we cannot make choices that go against the AOP.
The certificate, Viticulture Durable en Champagne, is a framework that helps to move in a certain direction with a starting point of 100% conventional methods at one end and an organic position in the opposite direction at the far end. This means that the certificate is not absolute, rather it encourages the holders to use methods that will allow to move the methods closer to organic ones.
Obviously, if you are eager, you will choose methods that are strict. This is the individual level of each company. Our way of working is in the upper 5% of the “Viticulture Durable en Champagne” certification. For example we do not use herbicides, which is a choice that complicates our work regarding the vigor of the vines and for the amount of work. Therefore, we have usually preferred to measure our progress with the methods for organic winegrowing.
However, we are not only into greener methods in the vineyards. We look into our consumption, waste and energy as well to use resources better. We pay attention to recycling, to put old stuff back in use and preserve what we already have at our disposal. As a heat pump has replaced fuel to heat the house, we plan to collect rainwater in the former fuel tank underground to water vegetables in the garden.
We are into presenting our surroundings at their best in the vineyards, the house, or our part of the village. When we planted fruit trees behind the house in spring 2020, the idea was to use the land and grow more fruits ourselves. But to plant these trees is also a continuation of an old tradition of orchards in the village of Soulières.
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the goals - those of the UN and ours
In Champagne, our company follows organic methods and with an increasingly circular mindset. Our methods and philosophy fit into a the UN sustainability goals framework that is more known outside Champagne than our current certification.
These 17 goals are universal for countries all over the world. In huge cities, small villages, and everywhere in between – so to say. Quite a few of these goals also apply perfectly to a company like ours. This includes goals regarding clean water, sustainable energy, innovation, local societies, responsible consumption, climate, and life on the land to mention some of them. They are all themes, we directly deal with in our daily work whether in the vineyards, the winery or in the village.
As winegrowers we depend directly on climate and land, and our methods will affect the land, biodiversity, and the groundwater. The way we produce wine also implies choices that impact the environment, for instance regarding waste, use of resources and energy. Furthermore transport to bring our wine and sometimes ourselves to you. They all matter, whether big or small.
Finally, our company deals with people. We hire staff for short or longer periods. We have trainees occasionally, from secondary school up to university level. Now and then we host or house professional customers to give us more time to learn from each other. Our place is one of exchange and sharing views. We benefit from each other´s passion. Win-win at its best and within the framework of the UN Global Goals even this has been a natural part of our lives and work life way before.
the examples
At Champagne Tange-Gérard, we try to change obstacles into steppingstones that may lead us towards new possibilities. This approach is a defining part of the very DNA of the appellation champagne as it transformed itself from a still wine to a sparkling one due linked with climatic changes once upon a time. Why not use a similar lens to look at the rest of our challenges as well?
For the time being, the direction of our company and the backbone of our actions are in line with the high end of the demands of the “Viticulture Durable en Champagne” certification regarding our protection of the vines, the administration of fertilizers, the preservation of biodiversity, the management of the territory, the waste and reduction of our carbon footprint. The work in the vineyards follows organic principles and is in conversion until 2024.
However, sustainability does not stop in the vineyards. It guides many other choices regarding our champagne and how we sell it. It decides for most choices in the farm and when we present our wines somewhere. Let us just mention our choice regarding surplus packaging (zero), our deco (supplied by the vines, thank you very much) and renovation inside and outside (mainly re- and upcycling).
Furthermore, we engage in our community but also at other levels with colleagues, suppliers, customers, and others with whom we share common grounds on ideas and in daily work with a special mention to local matches: Ours from Champagne with yours wherever you are. We invite you to share your ideas with us .
You may want to discover more about these issues in the examples below. We change them regularly, but you can always find them in the blog.