"Renaissance des Appellations" is a group founded by Nicolas Joly in 2001.

The group subscribes to a quality charter (a cornerstone) that specifies:

1. vineyard methods that pursue the true and inimitable expression of terroir;
2. cellar practices that respect the high level of originality and unique characteristics of each terroir.

The participating winegrowers recognize that the relationship between soil and climate has a different face everywhere on earth and strive to express the unique characteristics of their own special terroirs. These winegrowers make every effort to reinforce the organic life of the soil, avoiding synthetic chemicals and rejecting viticultural and winemaking practices that interfere with the true expression of their terroirs.

The system of evaluation outlined below does not speak in terms of "biodynamic" or "not biodynamic." It is simply about the vineyard and winemaking practices which permit an appellation (a terroir) to fully express itself. This approach encourages winegrowers to improve their practices and informs wine buyers about the effects of such practices on the expression of appellations.

The purpose is not to establish a rating of winegrowers, but to pull together all those who share a common philosophy of wine, whether they are growers, distributors or consumers. We want to give appellations their full meaning and free ourselves of the competition that technology and its lack of typicity have amplified in France and around the world.

level 1 (the fundamentals)

• care of the soil and its cover to maximize life in the soil; all herbicides are excluded.
• use of organic fertilizers and composts to sustain microbial life in the soil. chemical fertilizers are banned as they ruin the soils and the metabolism of the vines.
• exclusive use of natural products to fight diseases in accordance to the norms set up for organic viticulture. synthetic chemicals of all sorts are strictly forbidden.
• no genetically engineered vine plants.
• exclusion of all aromatic and genetically modified yeasts. aromatic additives are also excluded.

level 2 (the next step)

• manual harvesting in one or several pickings.
• respect of natural fermentation process: exclusive use of indigenous yeasts; enzymes, bacteria, synthetic chemicals are banned.
• respect of the natural richness of the grapes: exclusion of cryoextraction and all methods of must concentration (evaporation, reverse osmosis, etc.)
• manual selection of future vine plants in order to respect and increase the biodiversity of the vineyard. this is a return to true field selection without clones.

level 3 (when conditions are right)

• no modifications to the natural balance of the must and wine: no acidification or de-acidification and no chaptalization in any form.
• no fining.
• no sterile filtration (2 micros minimum)

level 1 lays out the fundamental elements which must be implemented over the entire domaine for a minimum of 3 years. level 2 takes this philosophy to a higher level. level 3 requires the greatest commitment by the winegrower.