This educational day was different from our previous workshops in more ways than one.
A new topic
Firstly, it was the first time that a vine planting and organic wine tasting workshop was organized with Albatross and its volunteers. 2 representatives from Atelier du Vin presented the planting conditions for 5 types of vine (2 golden berry bench grapes, goldlife muscat, and 3 black galanth, Isabella and blue muscat grapes).
Under the guidance of Jean-Marc Veilley-Lavalle, the youngsters planted vines along the adobe wall of the educational garden. Sustained explanations were given on grape diseases such as downy mildew, or on the difference between pesticide-free organic wines and biodynamic wines obeying Steiner’s theories on the attraction of the stars.
The wine workshop also included a tasting of two white wines by expert Corine Anderson, who taught the youngsters to use all their senses by looking, smelling and “chewing/testing” the wine before drinking it.
An audit for the eco-friendly label
This day was accompanied by Ecofest, and two auditors attended to check all the sustainability points to be met for Albatross and its workshops to qualify for the Ecoresposable, Ecofest label.
Criteria included waste sorting, composting, recycling and energy savings. Two first-aiders from the Lycée du Forez were also on site to ensure the safety of participants.
Great diversity of participants
In terms of representation, full respect for gender equality was achieved. A retired senior volunteer also took part in the workshop, as did a disabled person.
For the first time, students from Lyon’s CPE chemistry school and students from Grenoble’s business school joined the group of EMLYON students who have been attending the courses for several years.
Similarly, because of their origins, the participants represented a wide geographical range, including China, Mali, Ethiopia, Martinique and, of course, France.
Annual General Meeting
Finally, members of the Albatross General Meeting and Board of Directors took part in the event, which ended with a review of the annual accounts and the 2023 activity report.
Many thanks to Pépinière VIAL in Feurs (Loire) for kindly providing us with vines and descriptive sheets on the different varieties suitable for teaching.