Domain Aldenborgh: working with what Mother Nature gives you

On the southern slope of the 'Boereberg', one of South Limburg's river terraces is Domein Aldenborgh, the organic vineyard of Peter and Gerrie Pelzer. Not a vineyard with neatly trimmed rows and short cut grass, but a vineyard of organized natural chaos. Here there is optimal cooperation with nature to achieve the best grapes.

Optimal conditions

The location of Domein Aldenborgh is the beginning of the optimal conditions for the organic vineyard. The perfect slope of the terrace is ideal for viticulture. In addition, the soil structure plays an important role. In the subsoil of the Boereberg, two types of limestone border each other: Gulpener chalk and Kundersteen. The vine takes root in a combination of these chalk stone and thus receives an optimal supply of minerals and nutrients.

Tea from used grape skins

In Aldenborgh's process of growing an excellent quality grape, the symbiosis of the grapevine with all the natural crops surrounding it is central. The plant must communicate with the living earth in order to achieve a grape with a completely natural structure. Bacteria, fungi and yeasts are essential for soil biodiversity. Pelzer makes compost from good bacteria and fungi, supplemented with other items such as used grape skins from previous harvests and seaweed. The extraction of this compost, called tea by the winemaker himself, is sprayed into the soil of the vineyard.

Disease control

In addition to the soil, the compost is also very important to keep out pathogens. Here we do not spray with pesticides to protect the vines from diseases. Nor with copper or sulfur, pesticides that an organic working estate like Aldenborgh is allowed to use. "With many crop farmers, the focus is on sterility," Pelzer tells Route des Vins in an interview. "Direct control is the starting point, with which you also inadvertently damage microbiology that you actually need in the vineyard." Because the compost extraction also lands on the grape leaves, the plant is able to absorb nutrients even faster than through the roots. The result is robust plants that create their own defense system and are therefore less susceptible to diseases such as mildew.

Biodiversity

Microbiology not only promotes biodiversity in the soil. The number of plants and insects is greatly increased in the vineyard. "If you do your job right in the vineyard, you get healthy grapes and winemaking is a path of few detours," Pelzer says. "You work with what Mother Nature gives you and let her knit things together."

Farmer makes life

Dome Aldenborgh is one of the agricultural businesses highlighted in the new book "Farmer Does Life; Portraits of Landscape Farmers. This book by Berno Strootman, Caspar Janssen and Jantien de Boer puts Dutch farmers in the leading role who are pioneers in the fields of biodiversity, animal welfare and landscape. Innovators who not only produce food but also an attractive landscape. Farmers who give flowery field margins, hedgerows and hedgerow trees a role in their operations. The book is available from late November via via Lecturis.

Read more about Limburg pioneers of circular agriculture here. If you also want to work on a future-proof agricultural business, this webinar can get you started.

Source: Domain Aldenborgh, Route des Vins