A charter for protecting, managing and promoting wine and wine growing regions
Signed in Angers on 12 December 2003, the Fontevraud international charter lays the groundwork for creating an international network of key players in wine and wine making.
The vine is one of the most important expressions of the cultural landscape of the Loire region. Following the course of the river, wine growing in this region falls into distinct territories, offering a wonderful range of Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) wines from Anjou, Saumur and the Touraine.
These lands have undergone significant changes, and the key local players have adapted their traditional wine making methods to meet modern-day demands. Spurred on by the wine production industry, the AOC concept has introduced rules of production which have helped to improve the quality of the wine and often the landscape as well, so that a shared cultural heritage has been built up.
A new challenge
The current challenge, linked to the region's inclusion in the list of World Heritage sites, is to set in train a deliberate and concerted effort to bring together optimal wine production and the best possible management of the area's natural landscape.
Aims
The Fontevraud charter lays the groundwork for creating an international network (starting with the Val de Loire), supported by key players in wine and wine growing areas, whose aim is to protect, manage and develop the landscape in these regions in line with their natural and cultural values.
This commitment entails:
- involvement of local authorities, notably through their town and country planning role
- creation of partnerships across the profession and with other professions in the private and public sectors, to carry out activities aimed at increasing understanding, and conserving and promoting wine growing areas in line with the principles of sustainable development
- mobilisation of the wine growing community at a national and international level, in order to improve communication, exchange ideas and share innovations in the area of promoting wine and wine growing regions
- setting up a network of wine growing areas included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites on the basis of the worldwide value of their cultural landscapes:
Commitments
The aim of these commitments is to promote:
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understanding about the development of wine growing areas in their aesthetic, cultural, historical and scientific aspects
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dialogue between the different professions and institutional partners of the wine growing and wine making industry in the areas concerned
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conservation of wine growing regions and their cultural heritage, to engender a greater understanding of the quality of these regions, through projects to develop urban and rural areas and to improve the amenities within them
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promotion of these regions in terms of science and technology, culture and tourism
All of these actions, as part of the Fontevraud charter, have one ambition in common: to make the quality of the wine growing landscapes an element of added value for the wine, something which improves the environment in which people live, gives the area its identity and makes it an attractive tourist destination.
Timescale
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1st half of 2004 : Meetings with those responsible for the proposed wine growing areas in Portugal, Hungary and the Val de Loire
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2nd half of 2004 : Presentation of an Interreg IIIC application
