Towards a sustainable viticulture: how to assess the environmental dimension of its management?

Abstract

The increasing power of the concept of sustainable development has resulted first and foremost in an increasing demand in terms of respect for environment. Viticulture is an agricultural production particularly concerned because of the quantity of pesticides used (20% for 3.7% of cultivated areas - France, 2005). The existing "environmentally friendly" techniques to produce grapes are not unanimously recognized, and their consequences on the economic viability of farms are little or not assessed. In order to clarify the concept of environmental practices, work on the environmental characteristics of viticultural managements was undertaken. This notion was combined with an economic valuation based on costs and the method then tested at the end of 2007 on approximately twelve wine farms in the Gironde. Few farms feature an environmental practice of grape growing, and no systematic link between environmental practice and costs has been identified for the moment.