We’re celebrating National Wine Day with Nicolas Seillan, seventh generation vigneron and winemaker for Château Lassègue.
Join us in raising our glasses today in honor of National Wine Day and with congratulations to Seillan and his winemaking team at Château Lassègue, for earning Level 3 High Environmental Value (HVE) certification.
“We decided to apply for the certification as it is an important recognition of the sustainability protocols that have been in practice at the estate for years,” comments Seillan. “Farming in a sustainable manner protects our old vines, the community that surrounds Château Lassègue, and the land for future generations.”
Château Lassègue, the historic 36-hectare Grand Cru estate located in Saint-Émilion, has been granted Level 3 High Environmental Value certification. Level 3 is the most stringent tier of the voluntary certification process. The “High Environmental Value” level is based on performance indicators that are verified by an external auditing process across four key areas: increasing biodiversity, decreasing the negative impact of their plant protection strategy (measures to control diseases by reducing the use of pesticides and fungicides), managing fertilizer inputs, and improving water management.
The French Ministry of Agriculture and Food awards the prestigious certification to agricultural properties that promote and guarantee these environmentally friendly farming practices.
Developed in 2001, the three-tiered system encourages farms and vineyards to focus on the four key areas. At Château Lassègue the subjects are addressed through several different protocols:
Biodiversity Conservation
- Hedge plantings alongside a stream that runs through the property to protect against erosion and contamination; Château Lassègue is part of a local effort to improve the creek ecosystem
- Reintroduction native species of trees and bushes with the intent to maintain and improve the native ecosystem of the area
- Overall tree maintenance
Plant Protection Strategy
- Minimize vine treatments; early on Chateau Lassègue chose very light products and was able to create a very efficient program of treatments to do the minimum throughout the growing cycle while also avoiding compacting the soil
- No herbicides
Managed Fertilizer Use
- Chateau Lassègue includes a program of natural fertilizer from soil cultivation such as plowing under the rows to return natural nitrogen to the soil from the grasses
- Cover crops are maintained between the rows
Water Resource Management
- The estate employs a water treatment program of wastewater from cellar cleaning.
The estate’s commitment to environmentally friendly farming practices meets Level 3 criteria, the most stringent tier of the certification.
Beginning with Château Lassègue’s 2020 vintage, both of their wines (Lassègue and the estate’s second label, Les Cadrans de Lassègue) will carry the HVE seal on every bottle.
The post Chateau Lassègue Earns High Environmental Value Certification (HVE) appeared first on Chilled Magazine.
Source: Mixology News
