Philosophy

As passion-driven naturalists, we are always seeking to do better and diminish our impact onto the rich and complex natural resources present at Domaine du Grand Mayne. Our location has been selected also for that matter: the appellation Côtes de Duras is home to polycultures and vast untouched wooded land. The variety of habitat and the lack of intensive agriculture has allowed nature to prosper.

From the beginning, it has always been a goal to blend into that pristine ecosystem. Our continuous vineyard has been designed to minimize our interventions whether mechanical or phytosanitary. Domaine du Grand Mayne’s vineyard is therefore surrounded by 8 ha of gardens, fallows and forests, to consider only our land. The diversification of habitats acts as a natural booster to biodiversity: providing home to higher number of different species. This results in plenty of natural solutions to agriculture.

A rich and complex ecosystem will provide various rooting systems (abondance of wild grasses, trees, mushrooms etc.) and home to their respective bacteria, invertebrates and mycelium. These are the natural workers of the soil. As lush as the grapevine may be above the ground, the real forest is below. The rhizosphere (the world of roots) goes deep and is highly interactive.

Plants live in a symbiotic relationship with many organisms and their presence is compulsory for optimum growth. Whereas in the past, in the dark hours of intensive agriculture, these were to suppressed and replaced by chemicals, we at Domaine du Grand Mayne, have always believed in natural allies rather than artificial. With minimal intervention to our soils, keeping natural grass/fallow within the ranks and protecting our non-cultured land, we have kept a healthy and complex habitat for the roots of our vines.

Nutrients intake naturally occur with the help of the mycorrhiza (underground mushrooms) and soils are kept ventilated by worms as they push nutrients deeper. Keeping that in mind, our practices are designed to favor and stimulate the natural resources present in our soil.

Home to various natural habitats, Domaine du Grand Mayne provides shelter to countless species from the micro-fauna to larger animals. Apprehending the ecosystem has a whole one embraces a natural cycle of predators and prey, problem/solution.

Where intensive agriculture will rely on chemical solutions, we have integrated our practices into a virtuous cycle. Being a safe haven for wildlife will naturally resolve possible threats to the vines: from birds to bats to predatory insects, the biome at Domaine du Grand Mayne preserve this fertile balance. Our intervention on the vineyard is thought to ensure the lesser impact on this pristine environment.

Our philosophy is to constantly improve our practices and actions to preserve our natural environment. Inscribing our activity into the ecosystem as a whole to better contribute. Man with Nature as opposed to against.