Sustainable French wine production using draft horses in Bandol

Domaine Deprad, a 23-hectare vineyard in La Cadière-d'Azur (Var) owned by Rémi Deprad and wife Marie Martinenq, does not adhere to this ethos, believing that it might be wrong to look down on the way things used to be done.

In the wine industry, that meant that the products were often the result of the work of animal, mostly draft horses.

“It just struck us one day. What if?,” Rémi Deprad said. Mr Deprad had been managing his grandfather’s property for a decade and Ms Martinenq had taken part in several horse-riding competitions. 

That day was around 2017-2018 and the Covid pandemic in 2020 made their ‘what if?’ a reality. The Deprads would combine their love for wine and horses and produce wines thanks to them.

Five years on, the bet has paid off and the horses are a public relations power-house for the vineyard.

“Through trial and error, we understood how it could work. We were seen as a bit crazy in the community but thought it was a shame not to develop the idea,” said Mr Deprad.

The Connexion spoke about their products, the entrepreneurial adventure of going back to the old days, whether they are part of either the slow-living or ‘degrowth’ movement and what makes the Bandol region so unique when it comes to wines.

How have your wines been received? Does it intrigue people? Is it a conversation-starter?

Exactly. We are getting known because of it, which means our communication is successful considering we have built our identity around it. It is mostly praise that we get. It also intrigues some.

It is not a solution but an alternative that fits well with our production method, that is the message we want to get out there. It lies in the products we choose and harvest, the terroir we live in. We only provide technical solutions to new challenges.How do a couple of entrepreneurs in the wine service industry end up returning to draft horse wines?

Let me rewind our story a little bit. I took over my grandfather's vineyard in 2008. It took me several years to structure it and make it viable. When I say vineyard, I mean that the harvest was organised entirely by cooperation. We have been seeing the effects of climate change since 2015 and, although our practices make it work, they were bound for obsolescence.I retrained to implement different techniques in our Domaine such as agroforestry. Draft horses, reintroducing the use of animals for harvest purposes, was the final stage of this process.

Why did we do it? We were both passionate about horses.

Was it a gamble or did you know what you were doing?

A bit of both. We wanted to show it could work. We knew where we were heading – wine had always attracted us.

We were faced with two choices. Either to vinify the entire production, 30 hectares of vineyards and end up with some good wines and other less good cuvées. Or, take our oldest vineyards, produce smaller volumes of quality to sell in short circuits (locally).

We felt, at the same time, that wine would not be enough and diversified by getting into the breeding of draft horses. The popularity of our draft horses products allows us to develop wine tourism projects.

How do you work to get such a product? Is it as simple as saying you are returning to the ways of your ancestors?

Running the operation remains the same. You still need a horse, the same harness and tools from 2,000 years ago. The plowshare remains the good old one from Roman times.What has changed is the greater comfort and functionality of the tools, that are more ergonomic and comfortable than 100 years ago thanks to technology but also because animal traction is making a comeback in France. Animals are used in forests for logging, in cities for waste collection.

What does a horse bring that a tractor does not?

Horses tamp the soil down lighter than a tractor would. Their feet do not tamp twice on the same spot while tractors have treads. It means they tamp the ground with greater force which, by turn, lowers water penetration. In the naturally arid Bandol region, the collection of water is a necessity.Secondly, a horse is more precise and gentler for vineyards. Third, it provides a higher quality of work. Most of all, horses walk in places tractors cannot. Financially, a horse costs around €6,000, excluding vet and osteopath fees, and food, while a tractor is a five-figure investment, sometimes six-figure.

What wine does this produce? Is the taste different?

The effects on the ground are significant. Terroir is also an important parameter. There needs to be microbial activity and life. The Bandol ground is under a lot of stress currently and is becoming more sterile. This hampers its effect, the very thing that makes us clearly identifiable and unique.

I am not saying that horses are miraculous. It will take decades to get our terroir taste back. But we are seeing the first results.

Your wines are on the menu of Mare E Monti, a restaurant in Bandol. You have an increasing portfolio of wine options, and you won the Bandol Wine Festival in 2024. Are these results suggesting you are going in the right direction?

I think so. Our philosophy has been to produce quality wines. But you have to reduce your production enormously. That is the trade-off you need to make. Our quality comes from the outstanding activity of the Bandol terroir.

‘The only drawback is the maintenance and love’ your wife said about the pros and cons of owning a horse instead of a tractor. Do you agree with her?

Horses were considered both a tool and a liability 100 years ago. They were seen as survival assets. Nowadays, yes, the love factor is strong because we both share bonds with many of them. Now, we cannot keep them all. We try to keep our favourites to the end of their life. Many of the others are sold when they reach 10-15 years old to make a profit out of them.

In which movement do you place yourself? Is it slow living? Degrowth?

Yes and no, regarding degrowth. Yes, because our communication and marketing as a confidential domain means no website, just meeting with our clients and producers. No, because degrowth is utopian and economically unsustainable on a larger scale.

How do you manage to sell Le Glou Glou for €10,70?

Glou Glou is a very light red wine, ready and easy to drink, fruity, the perfect fit for customers who do not like tannic and powerful reds. The price fits this type of clientele.

So what drives your prices? Storytelling?

I would say proximity. We are accessible, we host many wine events. People come forward asking all sorts of questions, telling us that our approach is ‘folkloric’, that it is only meant for sales. Our role is to explain our approach. It is a discussion. You would be surprised that Domaine Deprad’s wines are not necessarily drunk by the same profile of people; educated bobos living in urban areas….

Given your trajectory, is there something exceptional about Bandol? Does this place absorb every shock and adapt like no other?

First, the Bandol appellation extends over eight communes around Bandol but not across the entire communes. Then there is the climatic geographical situation. These eight communes are like an amphitheatre with a microclimate.

Last, the area managed to reintroduce Mourvèdre, a Portuguese grape variety that adapts very well to this type of climate and drought. The appellation fits the values of our vineyard: confidential, rare, qualitative.

It is both the place but also how winegrowers work the ground that makes its exceptionalism.

Where can our readers find your product?

On Facebook; but we would be very pleased if they would come to the vineyard. That is the most interesting thing; spending an hour talking about wine, touring the vineyard, meeting the horses and seeing how everything is produced.

Vineyard work: Survey reveals increase in horse power

Domaine Deprad was one of 15 vineyards which took part in a grand study – which served as a guide to soil maintenance for vineyards working with draft horses – released by the Institut français du cheval et de l’équitation in April 2025.

The study is the most comprehensive released yet, providing more than 100 pages of data and information about the who’s who of viticulture par traction équine.“The interest in using draft horses in vineyards is growing rapidly. It is part of a wider interest in preserving a vineyard’s durability and ecosystems. Horses are considered one alternative, a viable solution for eco-friendly wine growers looking to preserve soils’ well-being by integrating a human and animal component in their work,” the guide writes.

It lists 96 wine growers spread across 10 regions with many in Bourgogne, Côte d’Or, Rhône, Val-de-Loire, Aquitaine and Languedoc-Roussillon. The Domaine Deprad is the only one in the Var.

The average size of vineyards is 26 hectares. They employ, on average, 13 men and two women, aged 46 and with 10 years of experience in the business. Only 23% of professionals took lessons.

The guide also lists every breed of horse owned and chosen by wine growers. The trait Comtois is the most favoured breed of horse in the southern regions of France with the Breton breed coming second. Domaine Deprad works with the Comtois breed.

The Breton reigns supreme in Brittany, as expected. The Ardenais is mainly employed in the Grand Est region while Centre-Val de Loire, Pays de la Loire and Normandy prefer the percheron.

On average, the horses are 12 years old and have worked for seven years.