The sound of nature is everywhere at the Brauneberg-Mandelgraben vineyard in Germany’s wine country, near the Luxembourg border. Emerald lizards are sunbathing, while various rare bird species can be found in the slate walls and between the vines.
The Karp-Schreiber winery in Brauneberg is part of the Moselle biodiversity project. The variety of species and habitats is finely balanced here. Natural environments are important for wine production.
“It’s good for nature and the wine,” says winemaker Jobst Karp, whose wine has won several awards.
Wine is nature
Bees have returned here to the Moselle valley, with around 150 species spotted along with many butterfly species. The diversity project aims to harmonize the habitat of animals and plants with the tradition of viticulture in the region, using steep slope viticulture. In the alleys between the vines, it is green and blooming. Slate walls have been built between the rows of vines, creating a habitat for reptiles and amphibians.
Ecosystems with a high level of biodiversity are more resistant to the challenges of climate change. Water is better stored in soils in these environs and erosion is prevented. Pests hardly stand a chance. In addition, colorful and lively vineyards attract tourists, which is becoming increasingly important for German steep-slope wine-growing regions such as the Moselle.
Environment Ministry promotes diversity in the vineyard
Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze also wants Germany’s vineyards to be more colorful and diverse. The ministry supports winegrowers financially. A total of around €4.4 million ($4.7 million) is available for the project over a period of six years. More and more winegrowers, Schulze said in a statement, had recognized “that the biodiversity of their areas is declining sharply and are ready to do more for biological diversity”.
The approximately 100,000 hectares on which wine is grown in Germany are an “indispensable cultural landscape” on which plants, insects, reptiles and birds must be specifically protected, the government says. On the federal program for biological diversity, the Ministry for Environment works together with the Association for Sustainable Viticulture Fair’n-Green and Geisenheim University that specializes in viticulture.
Pilot project
Ilona Leyer from the university is particularly proud of one project: her vineyard laboratory at Assmannshäuser Höllenberg, a well-known winery. Leyer is a professor of applied ecology and is deeply passionate about her project.
The steep vineyard was completely redesigned at the beginning of 2018. Vertical steep slopes became horizontal transverse terraces. The terraces were then greened and replanted with vines. “This is a step towards the paradigm shift that German viticulture needs,” explains Leyer.
In the last few decades, labor-intensive viticulture on steep slopes has declined sharply and the landscape has become less advantageous due to fallow land. “We have seen a monotonous increase in viticulture; you can hardly find habitats such as transverse walls, seams and ditches,” explains the scientist.
The biodiversity that existed in vineyards just a few decades ago is fading. In addition, too many pesticides and fertilizers are used. Much is different in Höllenberg. Animals and plants have returned. “The vineyard is alive and biodiversity is coming back,” says the scientist.
Protection in extreme weather
Transverse terraces have other advantages. They are easier to cultivate with machines than steep slopes, which require a lot of strenuous manual labor. They also offer more protection in extreme weather, such as heavy rain events such as just happened in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The water can collect in the alleys, seeps away and does not rush into the valley or into the rivers, as is the case with steep slopes. The Höllenberg is only a pilot project. Experts do not expect a rapid boom in the cultivation of transverse terraces in former steep slopes. For a start, vineyards will have to be redesigned and replanted in a complex and expensive way using large machines.
Winemaker Theresa Breuer has been prioritizing sustainability both in the vineyards and in the cellar
Eco in the vineyard and in the cellar
Winemaker Theresa Breuer knows what she wants. The energetic woman with muscular upper arms wants to work sustainably in the vineyards and in the cellar. “For us, working sustainably in the vineyard, but also in the social environment with our team, has long been a topic in which we have already taken our first steps,” says the winemaker from Rüdesheim am Rhein.
She has joined the Fair’n-Green association. The logo is stuck on every bottle filled by the Georg Breuer winery. The association is also supported by the Federal environment ministry and has set itself the goal of taking economic, ecological and social aspects of viticulture into account.
The Breuer winery is one of around 80 companies that are participating. The association’s ten advisors are on hand to provide help and advice to the winemakers. How do I better control the use of pesticides? Do I still need them? How can my business shift to green electricity? How much CO2 emissions can I save by using lighter cylinders? The association advises winegrowers on all these questions.
This article was researched with the help of the German Wine Institute (DWI) and has been adapted from the original German
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/winegrowers-need-climate-protection-and-sustainability/a-58309800?maca=en-rss-en-bus-2091-xml-atom