Over ten years ago, in 2009 then 2010, at the very start of the journey of the domain, it successively got a small pond and a conservatory orchard.

So much water!

The water is, curiously enough, everywhere at the Grand Bois, even though it is perched up a hill. Hence, not only does the Grand Bois have its well, it also owns a source, peacefully running down the valley down the chambres d'hotes and the barrels.

But the Grand Bois has even better to offer: a pond, dug back in September 2009, between the vineyard and the woods - where the domain is the highest (331 meters).

It might someday become a pond for fishing, when the time will have come...

A gourmet walk between the trees

Fourty-four. Fourty-four fruit trees of all sort - apple trees, pear trees, cherry trees, as well as peach trees, and plum trees, each selected from different varieties - who were planted in March 2010, every 8 meters from the entrance parking, so as to accompany the person visiting the domain.

But is it just a simple "gourmet walk"? Of course not, because it is in fact a conservatory orchard which was born with the grants of the regional council of Burgundy, in order to promote - and preserve - unknown fruit varieties, some of them also being threatened with extinction.

Exclusively composed of local trees, this orchard is willing to make you discover all of them... as well as their production! If the season is right... Apple eaters, will you fall for the double rose, the Sainte Germaine, the autumn calville rouge, or the winter rambour? Or would you rather choose plums, with the reine-claude dorée, the reine-claude d'Oullins and Ente's plum! Will you be able to recognize the blood peach, queen of the orchards? And, amidst the pears, make out the difference between a Jules Guyot and a Louise Bonne? On the side of the cherries, will you opt in for the morello cherry, or the bigarreau?

Yes indeed, the domain Joseph Lafarge, responsible company, has always been engaged on the way of the sustainable development.

The Clos du Grand Bois, being located right at the heart of a large clearing, surrounded all around by the woods, so in touch with the nature, could it really make another choice than that of the sustainable development for the matter of energies?

Regarding the heating, two priorities were defined: on one hand, choosing a natural and cheap source of energy, and on the other hand, using as few energy as possible.

Since the Clos du Grand Bois is very close to a vineyard, the wood has been chosen as the energy source, as it was a way to reuse the broken stakes and branches collected from the trim of the vines. The boiler that has been chosen - with the help of the Agency for the environment and the mastery of energy and of the region of Burgundy - is a device with high performances - hence low energy cost: a fifty-five kilowatts manufactured by the famous austrian brand Hargassner. Too reasonable of a power, maybe, taking in account the 4 building that will have to be heated, however balanced out by a heavy thermic insulation. By the way, no manual loading of the boiler! Indeed, it's a boiler working with shredded wood, loaded automatically by an endless screw picking wood from a fifty cubed meters tank filled with shredded wood.

Electrical... atmosphere!

In order to achieve energetic autonomy, the domain has covered part of its roof with 96 photovoltaic pannels.