Sustainable Agriculture

The search for the terroir’s expression is well respected here since our Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée “Givry Premier Cru” and even the parcels of vines in the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée “Givry Village” are subject to a separate vinification and bottling.

Concerning viticulture, the domain practices a sustainable agriculture. The main concern is the preservation of the soil or in other words, the Terroir, which inevitably translates into the sowing of grass or natural cover on the largest possible surface of the plots. This “plant cover” as it is called, has as main objective to protect the soil from the sun, and thus to preserve the biodiversity which is present there. This biodiversity, made up of plants and animals, creates organic matter and fertility; it is therefore essential to viticulture.

The vines are managed in such a way as to distribute the load of grapes well, and thus promote ripeness and good health. To do this, the pruning of the vine is the Guyot Poussard. This practice respects the physiology of the vine, by preserving at best the continuous flow of sap.

The harvest

The yields of Givry wines are capped at 52 hectoliters per hectare for reds and a little more for whites in order to obtain a very qualitative maturity, that is to say, a balanced concentration in sugars and polyphenols. The harvest is entirely done by hand. The grapes are sorted on a table installed in the vineyard before being sent to the winery.

The red grapes are destemmed and kept at a cool temperature (15°C) for a few days. This step is called cold maceration and allows the skins to color the juice. The temperature then rises naturally so that the yeasts can transform the sugars into alcohol : this is the fermentation. We slow down this stage as much as possible by limiting the temperature to 30°C to obtain the best aromas. The wine is then pressed to remove the solid parts, and put in barrels. The reds are aged for 12 months without any racking.

Concerning the white wines, the grapes are pressed in whole bunches and then immediately settled. Alcoholic fermentation starts in stainless steel tanks, then the juice is quickly transferred to barrels to stay there for about 10 months. The wine is aged on its lees with one or two stirring of the lees per month.

Maturing & winery

The wine is aged in oak barrels from three coopers and 35% new for the Givry Premier Cru and 30% for the Givry Village.

A brand new winery has been operational since the 2014 vintage. It has been designed so that operations are carried out entirely by gravity in order to further improve the purity of the fruit. The underground aging cellar allows for better temperature control for more precision in the definition of the wines.