Maison Perrier-Jouët: Science in the vineyard – or the buzz of new life?

Biodiversity Island, part of Perrier-Jouët's collaboration with design studio Formafantasma

(Image credit: Biodiversity Island, part of Perrier-Jouët's collaboration with design studio Formafantasma)

You’re not quite sure what you’re seeing at first. Columns of peachy pink, yellow and ochre rise up out of the wildflowers, forming a mysterious pattern in the heart of a vineyard. Are they relics of a long-lost civilisation? Or a secret scientific project?

The truth is even more special.

More than meets the eye

Created in partnership with design studio Formafantasma, 74 terracotta pillars – some shorter, some taller – encircle what appears, at first sight, to be an overgrown patch of land. Has it been forgotten? Uncared for and neglected? Far from it – this is the latest innovation from Maison Perrier-Jouët, and the new pride of its vineyards: Biodiversity Island.

These striking pillars are more than just decorative – each houses perfectly-sized hollows precisely engineered to make the ideal home for the Champagne region’s abundance of wildlife – from birds and wasps to butterflies and bats. By giving them a precious refuge in the middle of the vines, Perrier-Jouët is rebuilding the natural, beneficial symbiosis of the landscape.

Biodiversity Island, like all of Maison Perrier-Jouët’s efforts to make wine sustainably, is grounded in the most rigorous sustainability practice. That’s why it took two years to go from initial idea to launch, under the guidance of ecosystem management experts.

The project will be truly revolutionary – nurturing local biodiversity, and in turn enriching the soil of Perrier-Jouët’s vineyards, 40% of which are already part of the Maison’s visionary regenerative viticulture programme.

Perrier-JouetxFormafantasma_Limited-edition-Blanc-de-blancs.jpg — Perrier-Jouët’s new limited-edition packaging by Formafantasma

A vision to change the face of Champagne

Biodiversity Island is just the first step along a journey Perrier-Jouët has titled Cohabitare – a series of bold projects protecting the balance between nature and the art of winemaking for years to come.

To mark this first chapter, Formafantasma have created beautiful limited-edition packaging for two cuvées – Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2016 and Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs – reinterpreting the Maison’s iconic art nouveau designs with flora and fauna found in the vineyards today.

So the next time you open a bottle, think of the haven that is Biodiversity Island. And as you savour the floral notes for which these champagnes are renowned, you’re also tasting the natural harmony that, through craft and care, Maison Perrier-Jouët is safeguarding for the future.