Alternative viticulture at the Château Pauqué estate
Winemaker Laurence Duhr increases biodiversity in her vineyard and protects the soil from erosion.
Initiative phase: Well established and running
Laurence Duhr, who runs the Château Pauqué vineyard in Grevenmacher with her father Abi Duhr, strives to increase biodiversity on her steep slopes. By planting lavender and other herbs on the slopes, she not only increases biodiversity in her vineyard, but also protects its soil from erosion. Researchers from the University of Trier, as part of the EU-funded Diverfarming project, have found that growing herbs in the vineyard helps protect the soil. The weather extremes caused by climate change, such as heavy rain, can be mitigated by growing herbs on steep slopes. Laurence Duhr plans to complement the new biodiversity gained through her project with experiential education vineyard tours in the future, thereby spreading knowledge about sustainable agriculture. She is also thinking about introducing bees to her winery.
Name of Organization
- Weingut Château Pauqué
- Laurence.duhr@posteo.de
Address & geo
- Weingut Château Pauqué
- 73 Rte de Trèves
- 6793 Grevenmacher
Contact person
- Laurence Duhr
- Laurence.duhr@posteo.de
Institution type/carrier
Private Company
Institution-Name
Weingut Château Pauqué
Are there any additional partners or funders connected to your initiative?
- The Dr. Frey winery in Kanzem / Saar has a similar project
Participation opportunities
Objectives
- Increased biodiversity in viticulture
- Reduction of soil erosion and protection against extreme weather conditions
Challenges and learning successes
One challenge is the increased workload due to the manual irrigation of the herbs in extreme weather conditions. This workload is in addition to the daily work on a 10 hectare farm. Depending on the vegetation, the organically managed cells have to be treated with fungicides every 10 days when it rains. When the situation comes to a head. Furthermore, the mycorrhiza layer in the soil is disturbed. However, since the whole soil is not torn up, this side effect is accepted. Lavender is a host plant for the vector of a vine disease that has not yet reached the Luxembourg Moselle. The vines must be carefully monitored and the lavender plants must be moved to another location if necessary.
The initiative information was originally written in German