In a region where water resources are sparse, it might seem like an unusual choice to plant a host of cover crops, fruit trees and forestry trees in amongst the vines. But that’s just what Cheval des Andes is doing in its vineyards in Mendoza, as part of their radical agroecology manifesto.
Following in the footsteps of Cheval Blanc, their parent estate in Bordeaux who published the manifesto last year, the team at Cheval des Andes are also implementing an innovative agroecology plan to bolster biodiversity, enrich the soils, mitigate climate change and create more complexity while retaining freshness in the wines.
“There are several parts to the plan,” explains Cheval des Andes’ Technical Director Gerald Gabillet. “The first is no more tilling of the soils and planting cover crops, to allow them to create greater networks of micilliim in the soil and richer nutrition. The cover crops will actually give us more efficient retention of water in the soils we think, rather than compete with the vines. And then the planting of trees is also so that they act like a water pump in the soil, but also the trees give us another level of housing for birds and insects, as well as creating some shade for a cooler microclimate.”
