Fosse-Sèche (château de)

Information

Description

The “Château de Fosse-Sèche” is a wine estate created by Benedictine monks (who preceded the Cistercian monks in the region) between the year 800 and the year 1000. The monks used to prepare the wine for the Fosse-Sèche parish. The estate takes its original name not from the French but from the Latin: “Fossa Sicca”.
You will find the oldest stone wine vats of France in Fosse-Sèche. This anteriority is exceptional.
More than a millennium of history does not prove that we make good wine but it imposes the legitimacy of the place called Fosse-Sèche for the cultivation of vines.

The whole line of reflection initiated some twenty years ago revolves around one simple idea: one third of the area of Fosse-Sèche is devoted to wine production and the remaining two thirds are entirely dedicated to nature and biodiversity. There are therefore 15 hectares of vines in certified organic farming and biodynamic (Biodyvin) in the middle of a single plot of 45 hectares.
With a potential vineyard area of 40 hectares, the choice to use only 15 hectares for our vines represents a strong commitment.
Of the remaining 30 hectares reserved for the ecosystem, we undertook fundamental work over the past twenty years to improve biodiversity and to preserve an ecosystem which was fragile at the beginning but which is strengthening over the years.

The area is classified as a LPO haven (Ligue de la Protection des Oiseaux).
On Saturday, December 1, 2018, more than 100 wildlife shelters were installed in Fosse-Sèche with the help and advice of the LPO. This is the largest project ever carried out by the LPO in the department of Maine-et-Loire.

Twenty years ago, we dug a body of water essential to the biodiversity of the area. Then, in 2010, a collective was created to protect the 17 species of amphibians of Maine-et-Loire. So we created a wetland behind the body of water to facilitate the reproduction of amphibians and certain insects.

For more than 15 years, we have sown more than 30 species of flowers in 5, 6 or 7 plots at different locations on the estate to create reservoir areas for pollinating insects. The area of these plots has been at least 2.7 hectares and at most 5.5 hectares since the beginning. Most often the area of these flowered plots is of the order of 4 hectares.
The property of Fosse-Sèche is surrounded on the two widest areas by two forests. Only the edges are part of the property, both forests continue behind it but are not part of the estate. The area of the two edges owned is 4.5 hectares.
Over the past five years, several tree plantations have been established on three plots spread over the estate that cover an area of about twenty hectares. About 3000 trees were planted during these 5 years. The objective of these plantations is to channel and concentrate the wind over the vineyard in order to refresh it as a fan would and thus reduce the impact of climate change.

We also went through the process of organizing a production of nectar and pollen every day of the year, from January 1 to December 31, in order to help pollinating insects cope with this climate change. The abundance and diversity of insects on the estate is an important and essential food source for birds and bats.

A naturalist lived three months, days and nights, from April 1 to June 29, 2019 on the estate to make an inventory of the flora and fauna. These three months were not sufficient to make a complete inventory, but it nevertheless allowed us to have a good working basis to protect these species. Sixty bird species and 116 insect species have been identified.
Following the COP 21 in Paris (December 2015), the government of the day launched in October 2016, via the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignation, the CDC Biodiversity Nature 2050. This is the first materialisation of COP 21. The goal of the CDC Biodiversity 2050 is to improve biodiversity in agricultural and forestry environments despite the impending climate change. This is the first time in France that such a programme exists with a budget and a vision over 35 years. Fosse-Sèche integrated this programme and has been a partner of the Nature 2050 programme from the start. In 2017, Fosse-Sèche was the winner of the national competition “Arbre d'Avenir” in the most demanding category, the CDC 2050 category. In 2018, Fosse-Sèche received the first prize for agricultural dynamics in Maine-et-Loire. This is the first time a wine estate won this award in the department. What caught the jury’s attention was the ability of Fosse-Sèche to combine economic development, social improvement of the company through the creation of several jobs and its total involvement in the preservation of the biodiversity of the estate.

Since May 2019, soil and tree leaf samples identified with GPS points have been taken to measure the level of organic carbon in soils and nitrogen 15 in tree leaves. Never before in the world has a wine estate conducted this kind of research. The goal is to measure the impact of climate change on the estate and to work on the adaptability of the territory. The next measurements will be made in May 2022, 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040, 2045 and 2050.

Since September 2020, the domain uses 100% renewable French electricity (hydroelectric power). Through the subscribed offer, virtuous agricultural projects of Fermes d'Avenir are financed.

Fosse-Sèche will continue working to anticipate the consequences of climate change. We are not about to run out of ideas, but we will not say more as we want to communicate only on what has already been achieved.

Appellation

Vin de France (Val de Loire)

Région viticole

Val de Loire

Country

France

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Production mode

Year of certification

2009-01-01 00:00:00

Quality approach

Biodyvin

Packaging

Glass bottle

Product type

Sparkling wine

Still wine

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Distribution networks

Current customer(s) type

Café / Hotel / Restaurant

Caviste

Courtier / Agent commercial

Détaillant Bio

Importateur

Sommelier

Current countries

Allemagne

Australie

Autriche

Belgique

Canada

Chine

Côte d'Ivoire

Danemark

Espagne

France

Grèce

Hong-Kong

Ile de la Réunion

Israël

Italie

Luxembourg

Maroc

Monaco

Norvège

Nouvelle-Zélande

Pays-Bas

Royaume-Uni

République Tchèque

République de Corée

Singapour

Suisse

Taïwan

États-Unis

Type of target customer(s)

Cafe / Hotel / Restaurant

Wine merchant

Broker / Commercial agent

Organic Retailer

Importer

Sommelier

Target country(ies)

South Africa

Argentina

Brazil

Cameroon

Canada

Chile

China

Colombia

Costa Rica

Croatia

Finland

Guadeloupe

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Ireland

Iceland

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Mexico

New Caledonia

Panama

French Polynesia

Portugal

Peru

Democratic Republic of Congo

Sao Tome and Principe

Seychelles

Slovakia

Slovenia

Senegal

Tanzania

Thailand

Türkiye

Zimbabwe

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Main contact

First name

Guillaume

Name

Pire