Exceptional natural sites

To the north of the appellation, from Vienne to Saint-Étienne, the Pilat Regional Natural Park brings together more than 150 natural habitats where many species shelter and carry out all or part of their biological cycle.

Further south, the Natura 2000 site of Crussol Soyons Cornas Chateaubourg aims to protect the spaces and the species that live there, so that human presence is not harmful to biodiversity.

Another Natura 2000 zone exists in the Pilat park: nearby, the winemaker Pierre-Jean Villa has for example created an experimental plot of one hectare, cultivated in agroforestry, with plant cover, but where he has also installed nest boxes, installed beehives, and where he brings in sheep to graze in winter. In addition to protecting biodiversity, it is a question of reducing inputs, but also of protecting the vines from wind and frost thanks to hedges, or of reducing vine pests thanks to the presence of their natural predators.

Other reserves and protected sites exist all along the Côtes du Rhône vineyards, such as the National Nature Reserve of Île de la Platière, halfway between Lyon and Valence, where non-marine aquatic environments and alluvial forests are preserved, the Regional Nature Reserve of Gorges de l’Ardèche, etc.