MAINTAINING THE TERROIRS’ UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS AND BIODIVERSITY

Each terroir is unique. It draws its distinctive character directly from the elements comprising its ecosystem: the product of an alliance between soil, sub-soil, climate and topography, maintained and shaped at the hands of people. From the forests of Charente to those of the Pacific Northwest region in the United States, Rémy Cointreau pays special attention to its regions and strives to defend biodiversity to guarantee their continued existence and create products of exception.

Guaranteeing the supply of distinctive products in the long term

In Poitou-Charentes, the House of Rémy Martin is working in partnership with the National Forestry Office (ONF) to preserve pedunculate oak, vital to the production and ageing of a cognac of excellence. As part of its joint commitment with the ONF, Rémy Martin is implementing several reforestation sponsorship programmes to test the ability of pedunculate oak to adapt to climate change. In the national forest of Monnaie, this partnership has enabled the ONF teams to start a new research project to reconsider the place of this oak species in the Poitou region’s forest in the short and long term. Over the last two years, a network of “future plots” has been established. They are experimental plantation plots enabling us to measure the species’ survival and growth rates to, ultimately, determine the optimal plantation conditions.

On the other end of the world, the Westland Distillery also uses an unusual oak variety, Quercus garryana, to age its whiskies. These oak trees form a crucial part of Westland's unique character: produced by local forests, they grow in a temperate, humid climate ideal for the maturing process. The oak used comes mainly from trees that have fallen naturally to the ground, whether during storms or on account of old age. Over the last two decades, 600 Quercus garryana have been planted with the goal of reintroducing another 2,000 within the next five years.

Rémy Martin, promoting biodiversity in Cognac

In Merpins, the cradle of the House of Rémy Martin in the Charente region, an extensive environmental project has been created to protect biodiversity. Since 2010, the Rémy Martin Domaines have partnered with the French Bird Protection League (LPO) to implement a wide-scale reforestation project aimed at reintroducing fauna and flora into the environment.

The LPO teams have monitored these plots from an ecological perspective to assess the increase in fauna and flora and ensure the proper functioning of biodiversity. This monitoring has already showed an improvement in the diversity of species found in the area.

At the same time, the Rémy Martin Domaines teams, in partnership with the Charente Chamber of Agriculture, are sowing green manure cover crops to naturally fertilise the vineyard soils and, thereby, promote biodiversity. Green corridors have been established on the Domaines' plots and enable fauna and flora to reclaim the environment. The preservation of landscape hedges and the cultivation of floral fallow plants also help boost the return and activity of bees, vital to the proper functioning of the environment.