As someone who has spent seven years or so buying and selling organically-certified wine, I thought I was pretty well up to speed on all things environmental when it came to the world of wine. That was until I came across the world's first LEAF marque wines.

LEAF stands for Linking Environment and Farming' and where you see the logo you can be assured that the product you are buying has been produced in, what LEAF calls "an environmentally responsible way".

Bordeaux negotiant, Yvon Mau, is pioneering the project which is making the LEAF-accredited wines at three family-run estates, two of which I recently visited.

I have stood in my fair share of organic vineyards, had picnics under chemical-free vines and watched homeopathic preparations being used to treat the vines.

It has never failed to impress me and I wasn't entirely sure what the LEAF programme was going to offer. I couldn't help but wonder if this was a scheme that gave vine growers and winemakers the opportunity to appear organic while being able to resort to chemicals at the first sign of trouble.

I did start the day feeling slightly cynical but I was soon seeing the very real benefits. This programme goes substantially beyond good vineyard management. It oversees every aspect of the working vineyard, encouraging best possible practice while not losing sight of the need to be profitable.

A vineyard which is organically certified will not be allowed to use herbicides at any point. If the vine grower does so he will lose his certification and has to begin the long three-year reconversion' process if he wishes to regain his organic credentials.

It's not only a lengthy process but a costly one, too, and, if a large proportion of the crop and plants have been lost, it can take years to get back to a steady economic keel.

A LEAF vine grower is not permitted to use herbicides from September until April, but they are allowed one treatment in the permissible months.

For me, this neatly captures what LEAF is all about. It is encouraging minimal chemical intervention while acknowledging the very real problems that can occur if no treatments are allowed.

I liked the proactive approach that LEAF farmers have to take towards recycling and the health and safety of their workers. Particularly noteworthy was the water recycling. Vineyards use an enormous amount of water and the ability to recycle it is extremely important but you can't just slosh it around without considering the implications.

Water that's been used in the vineyard will typically be higher in organic matter, and therefore sugar, than the water in nearby rivers. If you were to return vineyard water directly to the river it would have potentially devastating results on the creatures that live there by using up disproportionate amounts of oxygen.

For that reason the LEAF vine growers I visited were careful to collect the water, remove the excess organic matter and so reduce its hunger for oxygen.

My eyes were positively out on stalks when I was shown the extensive records that every LEAF estate is expected to keep for inspection. This is an organisation that is hot on traceability and every activity is meticulously recorded.

If I had one gripe about the programme it is the amount of paperwork it appears to generate. Surely in this paperless age there must be a way to store this information online?

The LEAF marque is yet another logo for the consumer to get to grips with and I do have very real concerns about how the likes of Yvon Mau communicate with their customers about what LEAF really means.

It is not a substitute for organics and it's terribly important that the customer knows that. What LEAF does deliver is a practical approach to sustainable farming that can really make a difference.

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