Producer Stories

The stories behind some of our greenest producers

We are proud of our Vivid wines and producers and like to promote them where we can. Below are some of our Vivid heroes who are going above and beyond the call nature in their attitudes to the environment and sustainability.

Huia Vineyards

In 1996 Claire and Mike Allan established Huia Vineyards, a privately owned company committed to producing premium, hand-crafted wines.

Sustainable farming

The Huia Vineyards have been managed under the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) scheme since 2004. This scheme encourages member growers to embrace appropriate, environmentally and economically sustainable grape growing methods and sets out steps to minimise chemical use and encourage responsible use of energy and natural resources in vineyards and wineries. It provides a benchmarking system that enables Huia to grow fine wine sustainably.

Working towards organic and Biodynamic certification

When Claire and Mike Allan planted their first vines in 1994 they had an aim to continuously build soil and vine health towards eventually adopting fully organic practices in both the vineyard and winery. Today they operate in a fully organic way and are on track for Biodnyamic certification in 2011.

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Chateau l’Hospitalet

Gerard Bertrand owns vineyards across the Languedoc, including the 82 ha Chateau l'Hospitalet in La Clape.

Gerard is one of the most celebrated wine personalities in France but many of you may know him from his professional Rugby career, as a French International and the ex-Captain of Stade Francais. He is an incredibly charismatic man and has a formidable team behind him.

Sustainable development

Their strong commitment to sustainable development has seen them working with local environmental associations including bird protection and the Fire Brigade due to the large fire risk they have in the surrounding 'garrigue' scrubland. As Gerard states, “protecting the environment sustainability along with restoring harmony and balance to our ecosystems are today’s key issues and the obligations of tomorrow.”

Carbon neutral

The biggest achievement was becoming a Carbon Neutral estate. They did this by auditing all aspects of the business (including the vineyards, winery, offices, hotel and restaurant) and looking at ways to reduce their footprint. Though the big changes were made as they were able to “carbon sink” their activities by maintaining the 900 hectares of unspoilt Mediterranean heathland and forest surrounding the vineyards. Work entails: clearing the fire breaks, applying the forest fire defence programme, pruning, shredding any waste and preserving tree species and dry-stone walls.

Future plans

It won’t stop there as plans are already in place to further develop environmentally-friendly agriculture, to protect wine growing landscapes and promote biodiversity and eco-tourism as they continually look to play an active role in raising ecological awareness on the vineyards of the South of France.

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Chilcas Estate

Over the past few years they have researched, planned and implemented a sustainability programme that touches every part of the business.

Chile is blessed with some natural advantages when it comes to green agriculture – the warm, dry climate helps to keep the vines relatively disease-free compared to other, wetter parts of the world. It makes growing organic grapes a whole lot easier. There is however much more to green viticulture than just organics and it is the holistic approach that Chilcas Estate takes to the issue of the environment that really impresses us.

Sustainability programme

Over the past few years they have researched, planned and implemented a sustainability programme that touches every part of the business. Their efforts have recently met the criteria set out by Chile’s new National Sustainability Code which was launched this year.

The Chilcas Sustainability Programme is divided into three areas: viticulture, vinification and operations, and social responsibility.

Viticulture

The viticultural aspect looks at using precision agriculture to minimise the need for chemical corrections, measuring transpiration, precipitation and humidity to ensure no water is wasted when irrigating, and using cover crops to protect against soil erosion.

Vinification

In the cellars, waste grape matter (skins, pips and seeds) is all re-used rather than being thrown out, water use is carefully monitored and alternative energy sources such as biomass are used to provide electricity wherever possible.

Social responsibility

The social responsibility part involves the winery’s staff, their families and the wider community. Chilcas employ a positive recruitment scheme for disabled workers for specific roles, offer outstanding training, support local students with internships and sponsor a local community sports team.

The whole programme adds up to a well thought out, well designed and expertly implemented programme that maximises the positive impact the business has on its local community whilst doing minimal damage to its environment.

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