Written by Leonid Fadeev

The first question that our chief agronomist asked me at the very beginning of the Marival winery project was: “Will we work organically?”. The goal of organic viticulture is the cultivation of quality grapes without the use of synthetic fertilizers or chemicals.

In the modern wine world, organic viticulture is gaining more and more popularity. This phenomenon has at least several reasons. People have begun to take serious care of their health, to think about environmental protection and how to live and work in harmony with nature. Consumers are increasingly thinking about what they drink and how the wine was made. All this affects consumer purchasing behaviour.

Among other things, organic viticulture is a powerful marketing tool. Many wine lovers believe that organic vineyard practices deliver higher quality grapes, which are then used to make better, tastier and healthier wines. But in fact, it is impossible to define in a blind tasting a wine made from organically grown grapes.

Global statistics show that the trend of organic viticulture will continue to develop and, in fact, this is the future of the entire wine industry. We understand this very well. If we consider this category of wines in the overall picture, then, according to IWSR, the current share of wines made from organically grown grapes is 2.75% of total global wine consumption. Of course, this figure is small but growing and is expected to increase to about 4% by 2024.

We also understand that at this stage of the Marival project, we can immediately start creating a vineyard on the principles of organics and get certified, so as not to wait for a transition period of 3 years.

Certified organic viticulture means that the grapes are grown without insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers other than those authorized by the certifying body, using practices that minimize soil and nature change.

However, working organically and getting certified are two different processes. In fact, we have always worked without the use of herbicides and synthetic fertilizers. But there were years with extreme rates of disease spread, when additional treatments had to be applied in order to save the crop.

In this regard, at the Marival we have developed a programme for the introduction of organic practices in the vineyard. We don't want to use the concept of organic viticulture solely for marketing purposes. We do not want to deceive our future consumers by appealing to organic viticulture, masking gaps in technology and, as a result, selling low-quality wines. We really want to follow the path of organic viticulture, to work without a detrimental effect on the soil and nature, but to approach the issue in a reasonable and balanced way.

On a new and yet unknown terroir, in industrial quantities, using only organic preparations, there is a risk of ruining young vines. In this regard, for starters, we need to try to work only in organic way in the experimental area and gain the necessary experience. Some time should pass and positive experience of using such preparations should be gained in order to compile a reliable plant protection system without the risk of mass destruction of the vineyard.

Currently, organic viticulture in Russia is just beginning to develop. In this regard, the range of preparations for combating diseases and pests is quite small and often difficult to access. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a plan "B" and options for replacement.

Based on the above mentioned, we decided to follow the path of mixed and phased development of the organic viticulture in the Marival, that is, to use the techniques and methods of ecological viticulture in conjunction with traditional agricultural systems. Separate (experimental) plots should be transferred to the full system of organic viticulture and the condition should be monitored in comparison with traditional treatment plots.

In the process of such work, we will gain necessary experience and understanding in the use of organic products and their effectiveness, which will give us the opportunity to evaluate all aspects of organic production and make an informed decision on the appropriateness of its implementation on a widespread basis. With positive results, we will completely switch to organic and initiate the certification procedure.

LEONID FADEEV, Stage 2 MW Student, WSET / IWSC “The Future 50” winner, Weinakademiker, DipWSET, WorldSom Magister Sommelier, founder of Vine and Wine Consulting