Wildlife in the City: Pesticide Toxic Tour

From treatment to the vineyard.
A meeting followed by an aperitif with a tasting of the estate’s wines.

Explore the vineyards of the Cave du Signal and immerse yourself in the pleasures of wine—like Bacchus—while also engaging with the topic of pesticides. This “Toxic Tour” – a participatory tool to explore issues of pollution and environmental justice – will take you into the field, close to the practices of winegrower Lionel Widmer. He will share his philosophy: observe, reconnect with living systems, and treat the vines only when strictly necessary. This approach both protects the plants and sustains a know-how rooted in daily presence in the vineyard. Learn how to identify diseases, understand their development, and grasp what guides treatment decisions.

Alongside toxicologist Aurélie Berthet (UNIL and Unisanté), discover what pesticides are: substances of chemical or biological origin with varied uses and impacts, particularly on the health of professionals exposed for long hours, as well as nearby residents and consumers. Engage in discussion with political scientist Céline Mavrot (UNIL) and Lionel Widmer about the constraints facing contemporary viticulture: treatment costs, lobbying by pesticide-producing industries, quotas, changing consumption patterns and competition. How can economic viability, product quality, health, and respect for soils and nature be reconciled?

Between ideals, the realities of the profession and market uncertainties, must Bacchus reinvent himself and rethink the possible futures of the vineyard?