The Group for the Study and Monitoring of Terroirs is 30 years old and still has many projects!

The GEST, a group dedicated to studying and monitoring terroirs, celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, yet it undoubtedly lacks the notoriety and recognition it deserves. It should even be awarded a medal for "services rendered to the country," in this case Burgundy.

Thirty years isn't really that long in the history of Burgundy, but we must remember where the region was at that time. "In the 1980s, 80% of the vineyards had to be weeded. When I started, I did what everyone else did and used the chemicals whose names I had memorized at school. The turning point came one day when I was coming back from the vineyards. I said to my wife: everyone is treating their vines and you can't go out for a walk with our daughter. What kind of world were we living in then?" recalls Dominique Lafon, the first president of GEST from 1995 to 2002. And although at the time, those who plowed, left a little grass in the vineyards, and no longer wanted synthetic products "were considered crazy," The GEST quickly won people over, largely because some of the largest estates in Côte-d'Or quickly joined.

When Emmanuel Giboulot, a pioneer in organic and biodynamic farming, took over in 2002, he launched a major project to create soil pits in collaboration with Yves Hérody and Lorenzo Maini. "We wanted to assess the condition of our vineyard soils, which enabled us to realize the extent to which human activity was impacting soil structure and life. The question behind all this is: what can we do to improve things?"

Understanding what a terroir is

Etienne de Montille, who took over the familly estate while still working in investment banking, had a dual mission starting in 2005: to find financing, which would then enable him to hire staff, and to develop a map of the vineyard soils. "The GEST has been a very formative influence throughout my career as a grapegrower. It really helped me understand what terroir is," explains E. de Montille, under whose leadership training courses for grapegrowers were launched.

Jean-Claude Rateau, a pioneering biodynamic winemaker in Burgundy (Bourgogne Aujourd'hui no. 159, June 2021), was destined to one day become president of GEST, which he did in 2011, continuing the work begun by his predecessors while also undertaking fundamental work on grape variety diversity. At Mont Battois, above Beaune A conservatory of old Burgundian grape varieties has been created which could prove valuable in terms of adapting to global warming.

Arriving in 2018, Thibault Liger-Belair continued this work on plant material, grape varieties, and rootstocks, notably in collaboration with SICAVAC du Centre-Loire. François Dal, a technician from SICAVAC, concluded this fascinating day of conferences with a powerful presentation on climate change, water management issues, plant material, hot and cold terroirs, and agronomic adaptation… with advice that resonated like a warning in the packed amphitheater of the Palais des Congrès. Beaune "It's time to ask yourselves the right questions, to make decisions, but it must be done collectively, otherwise the decisions will be made by others in your place."

Find the original recording of the round table discussion from December 11th at the Palais des Congrès. Beaune , hosted by Jacky Rigaux, with the presidents of GEST (in order: Dominique Lafon, Emmanuel Giboulot, Etienne de Montille, Jean-Claude Rateau and Thibault Liger-Belair).

Christophe TUPINIER

Publishing Director