Luc’s residents have notices over the last months all the renovation and construction works made at Famille Fabre ! After (finally) re-roofing the château and the winery, we’re now building a new hangar to absorb the surplus orders from our growing business. We’d like to thank all the craftsmen who worked on the site, and look forward to moving in next month!
Having sheep in the vineyard has many advantages. Sheep grazing helps to keep vegetation under control in an environmentally-friendly way, reducing the need for herbicides and machinery.What’s more, sheep naturally fertilize the soil with their droppings, promoting soil health and biodiversity. Their presence also helps reduce the risk of fire by eliminating dry grass and maintaining a safer environment.
The return of the sheep to the Fabre family vineyards is a symbol of tradition and respect for the land. Using ancestral methods such as biodiversity and holistic management, they are restoring ecological balance while producing quality wines.This return testifies to their commitment to sustainable viticulture.
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of our ongoing, 360-degree vineyard initiatives! Work in permanent progress…
IN THE VINEYARDS
– We have planted southern grape varieties to accompany the global warming: Alvarinho, Tempranillo.
– A major agroforestry direction is given with over 5,000 trees planted in 3 years, together with hedges inside the vineyards. The fruits iare then transformed by André Fabre, son number 5 from Famille Fabre. https://www.instagram.com/andrefabre_cidre/
– Integration of polyculture and mixed farming on the estate: 30% of the total surface area planted with field crops. A herd of 200 sheep graze our vineyards from October to March. We cover ranges between the vines with leguminous seeds, mustard or faba beans sown in September and laid down in February and March, depending on weather conditions.
– We have planted resistant grape varieties, in their 2nd year of production, a light, aromatic white: Souvignié gris, Floréal and Sauvignac, which we have just harvested. No passage through the vines, no treatment products, and a much better carbon footprint !
AT THE BOTTLE
– Let’s make it reusable! We have launched a range of wines that we sell at Biocoop in returnable bottles: Le Chant de la Terre. Soon our Bulle, PET NAT instant will follow on the traditional distribution in French HORECA.
– We’re removing the foil on 2 cuvée, replacing them with DSAs. And for exports, when customers agree: https://www.famillefabre.com/en/no-more-caps/
– We offered a Scandinavian customer the FRUGAL Pack below in Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.
– Another innovative packaging: Packamama, a flat PET bottle of 60 grams: https://packamama.com. Known for the Galoupet bottle, we sell this concept to our customers.
– Adelphe membership to responsibly manage the waste associated with the distribution of our wines in France.
– Lighter bottle weight when customer agrees: adoption of standard BG or BDX 410 g character. The sommelier bottle for top-of-the-range products has been replaced by the conical bottle, saving 300g per bottle!
CORPORATE CSR
– Participation at the Convention des Entreprises pour le Climat, a national think-tank about global warming and tools to reduce its effects https://cec-impact.org/
– Monthly meal with a green minute for the company’s 45 employees: a moment of trimming and reflection on the pillars of CSR.
– Strict waste sorting and collaboration with MP2 Environement on recycling glassine, paper and cardboard: https://www.mp2environnement.com/recyclerie-mp2-environnement/ . Glass becomes an object of table art with Culo https://www.culo.fr.
AT THE CAVEAU
– Promotion of Slow tourism at the chateau: electric bike rides, and “take your time” tours.
Meet family Fabre members in this short video!
Let’s try the perfect summer pairing: freshness and lightness here with our Instant Bulle Pet Nat together with Crisp Gnocchi With Sausage and Peas recipe by Ali Slagle!
INGREDIENTS
Yield: 4 servings
3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
1(12- to 18-ounce) package shelf-stable potato gnocchi
1pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
2cups/10 ounces frozen peas (no need to thaw)
1tablespoon Dijon mustard
½cup/1 ounce grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
Salt and pepper
½cup torn dill, mint or basil leaves, plus more for serving
Step 1
In a large (12-inch) nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Break up any stuck-together gnocchi and add to the skillet in an even layer. Cover and cook, undisturbed, until the gnocchi are golden brown underneath and unstuck from skillet, 2 to 4 minutes. Cook, stirring, until crisp on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes. If the gnocchi are burning instead of browning or the skillet looks dry, add more oil. Transfer to a bowl or plate.
Step 2
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet, still over medium-high. Add the sausage and break into small pieces. Cook, undisturbed, until sausage is browned, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir and cook until the sausage is cooked through, another 2 to 4 minutes.
Step 3
Stir in the peas, mustard and ½ cup water and scrape up the browned bits on the skillet. (It may not look like a lot of liquid, but the peas will release some as they cook.) Simmer until the peas are cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes.
Step 4
Add the browned gnocchi and the Parmesan; stir until the cheese has melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the herbs. Serve topped with more herbs, Parmesan and black pepper as desired.
A sporting and gourmet event in the hilly vineyards of Boutenac? It is now possible! The first edition took place in 2022, in a very nice and warm atmosphere, bringing together sportsmen, gourmets and winegrowers under Languedoc endless summer : sunny weekends, and amazing nature. The Château de Boutenac, the headquarters of the appellation, hosts the marathon-village: wine tasting, local products little market, music concerts. Everything you need to spend a dream weekend, with a good glass of Boutenac wine!
Do you want to participate? More information here: https://www.marathonduboutenac.com
2023, October 21st et 22nd Marathon
Marathon 42 KM or relay race (10KM x 4) or Guided walks in the vineyard
https://www.marathonduboutenac.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063733495925
Are you a Fabre Family partner? Contact us to run in our team, and get some help with the organisation and logistics of the weekend (partner guesthouse, accommodation address, private tour of the chateau and tastings ): manon@famille-fabre.com or clemence@famille-fabre.com .
A first on Friday 3rd February: the Famille Fabre team – more than forty people, was invited to experience their own wine tourism offer: the electric bike ride through their vineyards. Under a magical sun… despite the few degrees, we set off on an adapted route with 4 stops in the mourrel of Luc Sur Orbieu. The bike with assistance, allows with less effort to enjoy breathtaking landscapes in a wild nature!
Stop 1: This is the opportunity for the Famille Fabre to present the new Carignan plantation ‘La Croix du Vignal’ in a wild part of the “mourrel” ( local scrubland ). Green cover between range of vines can be observed here.
Why sow between the rows of vines?
To improve the organic material in our soils, to avoid deficiencies of nutriment, to develop as much living soil as possible, a living soil needs to be covered with matter; biomass, insects, protozoa, fungi, organic matter… If our soils are bare, the first 30 cm of the soil no longer functions, burns in the sun; this is why we sow, to feed this part of the soil.
Sow a mixture of leguminous seeds (peas, broad beans), grasses (oats, wheat, barley), crucifers (mustard, false rocket alias diplotoxis; cross-shaped leaf):
+ flowers excellent allies for attracting pollinating bees
+ pivot stems where peas, for example, cling to make biomass, have a volume of vegetation to filter the sun, shade the soil, prevent water evaporation
+ leaves fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and return it to the soil
+ the roots also decompose the soil, to avoid large clods, hence more life in the soil
+ by decomposing, the plant gives back a maximum of organic matter once the stem has been bent to stop the plant’s growth. The plant should be destroyed in April in the middle of the flowering period to optimise the contribution of organic matter, to avoid any risk of frost, such as plants in the middle of the vine row raising the dew point at the level of the vines (instead of at ground level) and above all to avoid competition for water before these plants consume too much water for their flowering.
To discover the next 3 stops, we invite you to get on your bike accompanied by Jeanne and Fanny responsible for oenotourism at the estate!
More information at oenotourisme@famille-fabre.com and on +33 6 31 01 73 09.
The circular economy is very important to us, as is our Chant de la terre range in reusable bottles since January 2021, sold at BIOCOOP.
Another concrete and local example: the company CULO, created in Narbonne by the vivacious Margaux, has recovered 10 pallets of glass bottles that we no longer use (discontinued model or damaged bottles).
CULO is a committed French company that has a deep upcycling approach ♻️
CULO collects “glass” waste: mainly wine and champagne bottles, to make them into tableware and decorative objects.
CULO collects the bottles from partner restaurants and wineries, and then cuts, sands, polishes and engraves them!
Culo acts for a serious cause without taking itself too seriously. And Famille Fabre is happy to support this cause, 25km from its cellar!
At last Friday’s company awayday, Louis gave us the 5 keys to happiness:
1/ Being consistent and true to yourself
2/ Being open: accepting things that are exterior to ourselves: feeling an emotion in front of a beautiful landscape, or having a glass of wine! Being happy by encountering something different.
3/ Loving and being loved, reciprocal love is what connects us to each other.
4/ Understanding and being understood.
5/ Communicating: we all enjoy sharing things!
Something to think about!