Wolfberger pursues its commitment to AgriConfiance®

Reasoned and sustainable winemaking

Proof of its environmental commitment to protecting the land in Alsace, Wolfberger was awarded the Agri-Confiance® Standard V01-007 (quality and environment of agriculture production) for 99% of its land (882 hectares/2200 acres), a sign of sustainable growth. Agri-Confiance® groups together French agriculture cooperatives committed to managing quality and the environment.

The certification rests on two French standards, NF VO1-005 (quality of agricultural production) and NF V01-007 (quality and the environment of agricultural production), complementary standards to the ISO 9001 and 22000.

Today, Wolfberger is one of the rare Alsatian wineries to have attained this level of strict requirements (Standard 7), guaranteeing a quality system that is workable, effective and sustainable.

Goals already reached

For the Agri-Confiance®, our goals since 2012 have been:
– An index of phytosanitary criticality
– Regular technical meetings on a yearly basis
– 100% of grassy parcels or parcels worked, one row in two minimum
– 95% of our surface area exempt from systematic mineral fertilization over three years.

In order to reach the Agri-Confiance® goals, meetings with each of our 350 Wolfberger winegrowers were organized, resulting in a report of their practices and an offer of individual and collective action plans.

Numerous technical meetings were set up to train our member winegrowers (our change agents for reducing the doses of phytosanitary products, treating the vines with plant-based products in 2018, considering the vines facing global warming, new ways to deal with wood diseases in 2019). We hope to broaden the proposals with specific theme-based training in small numbers with the help of VIVEA (a provider of professional training for agricultural workers).

The next goal:

See our steps towards Agri-Confiance® evolve and change by setting new goals, with a plan of continual improvement for inventing tomorrow’s viticulture.

Ongoing projects

Insect sexual confusion was begun in 2018 near Bergholtz. The decision was the result of the members’ desire to move in a direction that aims to reduce our environmental impact. Sexual confusion, an alternative to using chemical pesticides, consists of diffusing sexual pheromones into the air, making it difficult for the male insect to find females. This is achieved using small capsules that are attached to the trellis wires in the vineyards.
The Alsace Chamber of Agriculture was looking for a winemaking association to work on setting up insect sexual confusion, with the help of the government ministry for water sustainability. With nearly 50% of the Bergholtz parcels belonging to Wolfberger winemakers, the choice of that municipality was clear. A discussion with the president of the winemaking association and a Wolfberger winegrower (Jean-Luc Galliath) rallied the members to take the fast and easy steps. Installing the capsules consists of hanging them on the trellis wires in the rows of vines. The time it takes depends on the amount of surface area to be covered; one diffuser covers 20 square meters (215 sq ft) and a minimum of 5 hectares (12 acres) is necessary for the method to be effective.