France : A Majority Farmland
The HVE Certification program has been developed with strong support from Vignerons Indépendants de France, HVE was founded in 2002 and is focused on environmental progress and certification of the entire farm. A 2017 study by SAE Institute Paris in France indicated that 52% of France’s land mass is agricultural farmland.
HVE, also interchangeably HEV, Haute Valeur Environmentale, promotes maintaining an active and healthy ecosystem through four key areas: biodiversity, plant protection strategy, management of fertilizer use, and water management.
HVE: Protecting air, water, soil, climate and landscape
With consideration to the elimination of chemical inputs in the vineyard, HVE Certification, even at the second or third of three levels, is less strict than organic certifications but the programs overall emphasis on the many aspects of environmental performance places it at the highest level of overall environmental certification for farms.
Mary Taylor, owner and importer at Mary Taylor Wines, focuses on working with grower-producers who farm their land respectfully, and HVE certification is one of the aspects of commitments she looks for in her portfolio.
“To me, it isn’t enough to have an organic certification,” said Mary, “I look for wine grown in an ecosystem such as pro-pollinator; diverse and regenerative and safe for bees and other life.”
“I look for wine grown in an ecosystem such as pro-pollinator; diverse and regenerative and safe for bees and other life.”
Logo Use and Requirements
HVE can be placed on finished products containing at least 95% of raw materials from certified farms.
For more reading, visit https://agriculture.gouv.fr/HVE-certification
