The technical Dionysud wine fair was held in Beziers in Languedoc in November. A big discussion during the fair was about irrigation. Languedoc-Roussillon has a total of 240 000 hectares and only 24,000 are irrigated at the moment. It is too little, says the Chamber of Agriculture in the department of Hérault.
The vineyards of Languedoc are nowadays in constant water stress. A study has now been initiated to determine the need for irrigation and, not least, to see from where the irrigation water can be taken.
The rules for irrigation today say that it is forbidden for all wines between August 15 and the harvest. Wines with the designation IGP and Vin de France are allowed to be irrigated until August 15 while the AOP wines can be irrigated only until May 1st. However, they can apply for permission to irrigate between June 15 and August 15 if the summer is really hot and dry.
The old adage that “irrigation is not permitted in Europe” is long gone. All the better it is.
Read more: vitisphere.com
