The discussion about the future of glyphosate continues. It is very contested if glyphosate is dangerous or not at all dangerous (when properly used). In 2022, it will again be on the EU agenda, until then it is allowed. But France (at least the government, but not all farmers) wants to ban glyphosate before that.
In the meantime, some winegrowers take matters into their own hands. In Corsica, the appellation Patrimonio has decided to totally ban glyphosate from its vineyards.
The ban will be added to the appellation rules for Patrimonio in 2021. And it will apply to the entire vineyard, including steep slopes and underneath the vines. Instead, the wine producers can for instance plough or just leave the weed to grow or sow a suitable cover crop. More appellations seem to be onto the same idea, both in France and in Italy. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the well-known Roundup product.
Read more: vitisphere
Read: Read more on vineyard spraying in our book Organic, biodynamic and natural winemaking.
