VITOUR Landscape: 5th international seminar in Val de Loire

The Fontevraud International Charter and the VITOUR network

The network and the commitments of the Fontevraud International Charter, which was signed in 2003, were presented to members of the VITOUR network by Myriam Laidet of the Mission Val de Loire, Christian Asselin, OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine) expert, and Joël Rochard of the Institut Français de la Vigne (IFV – the French Vine and Wine Institute), Vice-President of the Commission at the OIV and Fontevraud Charter coordinator. 

Its commitments are similar to those of the VITOUR network of World Heritage vineyards: 

• Knowledge of winegrowing landscapes with regards to their aesthetic, cultural, historical and scientific aspects.
• Exchange between the various professions and institutional partners in the winegrowing sector active in the areas concerned.
• Preservation of winegrowing areas and their heritage, to ensure that more account is taken of their quality in territorial development projects.
• Valorisation of such landscapes

The VITOUR network has nonetheless undertaken specific work on the remarkable universal value of its sites – an essential characteristic for inclusion on the UNESCO list. Contacts will be maintained between the two networks, with Mission Val de Loire acting as intermediary. 

On the web:

• www.chartedefontevraud.org

Exchange of good practice: “protection of winegrowing landscapes and their competitiveness”

9 good practices were presented by 8 partners. All good practices presented in the 11 technical seminars will be put online on the dedicated website in 2011. 

For Val de Loire, Etienne Goulet, Director of the Interloire Technical Cell, presented the cartographical tool for characterisation of winegrowing terroirs that has been supported as an experiment by the Pays de la Loire Region for the last 10 years. 

The tool contributes to account being taken of winegrowing landscapes in the drafting of urban development projects. The atlas of terroirs is available in both paper and digital form. 

Download:

• Characterization and cartography of viticultural terroirs: a tool for the management, valorisation and conservation of vineyards (PDF, 1.45 MB)

Case study– The terroirs atlas in Val de Loire

The aim of this case study was to round off the presentation of good practices in Val de Loire by handing over the rostrum to those involved in such action: 

• The approach taken by the Pays de la Loire Region over the last 10 years, by Pierre-Yves Legrand, Directeur of SEM Pays de la Loire
• Assessment of use of terroirs atlases in Maine-et-Loire, by Etienne Goulet, Director of the Interloire Technical Cell
• Testimonies of winegrowers and elected community representatives:
   
  • Tessa Laroche, Domaine aux Moines, Savennières
  • Claude Papin, Winegrower, Domaine de Pierre Bise, Beaulieu-sur-Layon
  • Jacques Chambrier, Mayor of Savennières
• The approach taken in the Centre Region, by François Garnotel, Terroir and Delimitation Engineer at the INAO (National Institute for Appellations of Controlled Origin), Etienne Goulet, Director of the Interloire Technical Cell, and Myriam Laidet, Manager of the Sustainable Development Mission at Mission Val de Loire. (replacing Sylvain Reverchon, Director of Agriculture in the Centre Region, who was unable to attend)

On this website: 

• World Heritage vineyards