In the wine-making heart of the northern Rhône hills in southeastern France, one of Pierre-Jean Villa's plots is a curiosity. Unlike others stretching far around, the vines in this particular spot are interspersed with maples and fruit trees designed to stimulate the grapes – and protect them from the ravages of climate change. Slowly, French winegrowers are experimenting with "vitiforestry". It is a new word for an ancient practice: growing vines alongside trees, something Italy and Greece have never stopped doing. "Here, at the start of the 20th century, there was an orchard and a vegetable garden as well as vines," said Villa, standing on the plot that slopes down towards the Rhône river, with the Alps on the horizon. "The idea is to recreate a bit of what used to be done before. We've even brought back sheep and bees." 'Decent' grape yield As "a man of the land", Pierre-Jean says he is now struck by seeing "earlier harvests, heatwaves, drought or rain arriving with a suddenness and violence we didn't see before". Like his neighbours, he had previously grown vines the traditional way. It was his son Hugo, a graduate of agricultural school in Montpellier, who had the idea of using trees to counter the harmful effects of the climate crisis. Lying close to the officially designated wine regions of Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie, the land that now holds the trees lay fallow just a decade ago. On it, the father and son embarked on their "technical and family" project. Helped by experts from the neighbouring regional park, they selected local species of tree and determined their layout with the right balance of shade and humidity. As a result, for every 15 rows of prized Syrah grapevines, there are 400 apple, pear, peach, hazelnut and quince trees growing in dense rows. While it is too early to draw firm conclusions, Pierre-Jean Villa believes the plot "came through rather better" than others during a 20-day heatwave in August 2025, with a "decent" yield. 40C heat Christian Dupraz, research director at the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (Inrae), agreed. "When we had 40 degrees Celsius last year, our agroforestry vines coped perfectly."