Biodynamic wine
Encyclopedia
Biodynamic wines are wines made using the principles of biodynamic agriculture
. Biodynamic refers to both the agricultural methods and the handling and processing of the fruit post-harvest.
(grape growing) has become popular in recent years in several growing regions, including France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, Australia, Chile, South Africa, Canada, and the United States. A number of very high-end, high-profile commercial growers have converted recently to biodynamic practices. According to an article in Fortune
, many of the top estates in France, "including Domaine Leroy in Burgundy, Château de la Roche-aux-Moines in the Loire
, Maison Chapoutier in the Rhone Valley, and Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
in Alsace
," follow biodynamic viticulture. There are currently more than 450 biodynamic wine producers worldwide. Currently, for a wine to be labeled “biodynamic” it has to meet the stringent standards laid down by the Demeter Association, which is an internationally recognized certifying body.
Like biodynamic agriculture in general, biodynamic viticulture stems from the ideas and suggestions of Rudolf Steiner
(1861–1925), who gave his now famous Agriculture Course in 1924, predating most of the organic movement. The principles and practices of biodynamics are based on his spiritual/practical philosophy, called anthroposophy
, which includes understanding the ecological, the energetic, and the spiritual in nature.
As a practical method of farming, biodynamics embodies the ideal of ever-increasing ecological self-sufficiency just as with modern agro-ecology, but includes ethical-spiritual considerations. This type of viticulture views the farm as a cohesive, interconnected living system.
s, specifically in the areas of biodiversity, soil fertility, crop nutrition, and pest, weed, and disease management. For example, Anne-Claude Leflaive of Domaine Leflaive estate in Burgundy claims that the use of biodynamic methods saved a badly diseased vineyard, to the point that it now produces some of her most highly prized wines. A long-term study of one California luxury wine-farm found that improved quality for both biodyanamic and organic could not be explained. This study in different vineyard blocks at a commercial vineyard in Ukiah, California found no difference between biodynamic methods with general organic farming methods with respect to soil quality, nor in the yield per vine, clusters per vine, and cluster and berry weight. However, one of the authors, Leo McCloskey has made the case that consumer quality scores, 100-point scores, are expected to be higher for both biodynamic and organic over traditional farming.
Biodynamic winemakers claim to have noted stronger, clearer, more vibrant tastes, as well as wines that remain drinkable longer. Biodynamic wines are more "floral", according to Spanish biodynamic vintner Perez Palacios. Biodynamic producers also note that their methods tend to result in better balance in growth, where the sugar production in the grapes coincides with physiological ripeness, resulting in a wine with the correct balance of flavor and alcohol content, even with changing climate conditions.
In a blind tasting of 10 pairs of biodynamic and conventionally-made wines, conducted by Fortune
and judged by seven wine experts including a Master of Wine
and head sommelier
s, nine of the biodynamic wines were judged superior to their conventional counterpart. The biodynamic wines "were found to have better expressions of terroir
, the way in which a wine can represent its specific place of origin in its aroma, flavor, and texture." Critics caution that such comparisons of wines of the same type need to be controlled for differences in soil and subsoil, and the farming and processing techniques used.
Critics acknowledge the high quality of biodynamic wines, but question whether many of the improvements in vineyard health and wine taste would have happened anyway if organic farming
were used, without the mysticism
and increased effort involved in biodynamics. Other critics attribute the success of biodynamic viticulture to the winemakers' higher craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail. Ray Isle, managing editor of Wine & Spirit
magazine, says, "So what if they also think burying cow horns full of manure will help them channel new life forces from the cosmos?"
Biodynamic agriculture
Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that emphasizes the holistic development and interrelationships of the soil, plants and animals as a self-sustaining system. Biodynamic farming has much in common with other organic approaches, such as emphasizing the use of manures and composts...
. Biodynamic refers to both the agricultural methods and the handling and processing of the fruit post-harvest.
Biodynamic viticulture
The practice of biodynamics in viticultureViticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
(grape growing) has become popular in recent years in several growing regions, including France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, Australia, Chile, South Africa, Canada, and the United States. A number of very high-end, high-profile commercial growers have converted recently to biodynamic practices. According to an article in Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
, many of the top estates in France, "including Domaine Leroy in Burgundy, Château de la Roche-aux-Moines in the Loire
Loire Valley
The Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...
, Maison Chapoutier in the Rhone Valley, and Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht is a winery located in Turckheim, Alsace, France.The domaine was created in 1959, following the marriage of Léonard Humbrecht to Geneviève Zind. The Humbrecht family has a history of winegrowing since 1620...
in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
," follow biodynamic viticulture. There are currently more than 450 biodynamic wine producers worldwide. Currently, for a wine to be labeled “biodynamic” it has to meet the stringent standards laid down by the Demeter Association, which is an internationally recognized certifying body.
Like biodynamic agriculture in general, biodynamic viticulture stems from the ideas and suggestions of Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...
(1861–1925), who gave his now famous Agriculture Course in 1924, predating most of the organic movement. The principles and practices of biodynamics are based on his spiritual/practical philosophy, called anthroposophy
Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
, which includes understanding the ecological, the energetic, and the spiritual in nature.
As a practical method of farming, biodynamics embodies the ideal of ever-increasing ecological self-sufficiency just as with modern agro-ecology, but includes ethical-spiritual considerations. This type of viticulture views the farm as a cohesive, interconnected living system.
Efficacy
Some grape growers who have adopted biodynamic methods claim to have achieved improvements in the health of their vineyardVineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s, specifically in the areas of biodiversity, soil fertility, crop nutrition, and pest, weed, and disease management. For example, Anne-Claude Leflaive of Domaine Leflaive estate in Burgundy claims that the use of biodynamic methods saved a badly diseased vineyard, to the point that it now produces some of her most highly prized wines. A long-term study of one California luxury wine-farm found that improved quality for both biodyanamic and organic could not be explained. This study in different vineyard blocks at a commercial vineyard in Ukiah, California found no difference between biodynamic methods with general organic farming methods with respect to soil quality, nor in the yield per vine, clusters per vine, and cluster and berry weight. However, one of the authors, Leo McCloskey has made the case that consumer quality scores, 100-point scores, are expected to be higher for both biodynamic and organic over traditional farming.
Biodynamic winemakers claim to have noted stronger, clearer, more vibrant tastes, as well as wines that remain drinkable longer. Biodynamic wines are more "floral", according to Spanish biodynamic vintner Perez Palacios. Biodynamic producers also note that their methods tend to result in better balance in growth, where the sugar production in the grapes coincides with physiological ripeness, resulting in a wine with the correct balance of flavor and alcohol content, even with changing climate conditions.
In a blind tasting of 10 pairs of biodynamic and conventionally-made wines, conducted by Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
and judged by seven wine experts including a Master of Wine
Master of Wine
Master of Wine is a qualification issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom...
and head sommelier
Sommelier
A sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...
s, nine of the biodynamic wines were judged superior to their conventional counterpart. The biodynamic wines "were found to have better expressions of terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
, the way in which a wine can represent its specific place of origin in its aroma, flavor, and texture." Critics caution that such comparisons of wines of the same type need to be controlled for differences in soil and subsoil, and the farming and processing techniques used.
Critics acknowledge the high quality of biodynamic wines, but question whether many of the improvements in vineyard health and wine taste would have happened anyway if organic farming
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
were used, without the mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
and increased effort involved in biodynamics. Other critics attribute the success of biodynamic viticulture to the winemakers' higher craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail. Ray Isle, managing editor of Wine & Spirit
Wine & Spirit
Wine & Spirit is a British monthly magazine on wine, spirits, beers and cocktails, directed at both consumers and the drinks industry. The magazine also organises the annual "International Wine Challenge" and "International Spirits Challenge", and publishes the annual results book, the World's Best...
magazine, says, "So what if they also think burying cow horns full of manure will help them channel new life forces from the cosmos?"
Biodynamic preparations
For a vineyard to be considered biodynamic the wine-grower must use the nine biodynamic preparations, as described in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner. These are made from cow manure, quartz (silica) and seven medicinal plants. Some of these materials are first transformed using animal organs as sheaths (NB: the animal organs are not used on the vineyards). Of the nine biodynamic preparations three are used as sprays (horn manure, horn silica and common horsetail) and the other six are applied to the vineyard via solid compost:- Preparation 500 - Cow manure is buried in cow horns in the soil over winter. The horn is then dug up, its contents (called horn manure or '500') are then stirred in water and sprayed on the soil in the afternoon. The horn may be re-used as a sheath.
- Preparation 501 - Ground quartzQuartzQuartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
is buried in cow horns in the soil over summer. The horn is then dug up, its contents (called horn silica or '501') are then stirred in water and sprayed over the vines at daybreak. The horn may be re-used as a sheath. - Preparation 502 - YarrowYarrowAchillea millefolium or yarrow is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. In New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called plumajillo, or "little feather", for the shape of the leaves. In antiquity, yarrow was known as herbal militaris, for its use in...
flowers are buried sheathed in a stag's bladder. This is hung in the summer sun, buried over winter, then dug up the following spring. The bladder's contents are removed and inserted in the compost (the used bladder is discarded). - Preparation 503 - Chamomille, the German chamomile (Matricaria chamomila) flowers are sheathed in a cow intestine. This is hung in the summer sun, buried over winter, then dug up the following spring. The intestine's contents are removed and inserted in the compost (the used intestine is discarded).
- Preparation 504 - Stinging nettles are buried in the soil (with no animal sheath) in summer, are dug up the following autumn and are inserted in the compost.
- Preparation 505 - Oak bark is buried sheathed in the skull of a farm animal, the skull is buried in a watery environment over winter, then dug up. The skull's contents are removed and inserted in the compost (the used skull is discarded).
- Preparation 506 - Dandelion flowers are buried sheathed in a cow mesentery (peritoneum). This is hung in the summer sun, buried over winter, then dug up the following spring. The mesentery's contents are removed and inserted in the compost (the used mesentery is discarded).
- Preparation 507 - ValerianValerian (herb)Valerian is a hardy perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers which bloom in the summer months. Valerian flower extracts were used as a perfume in the sixteenth century....
flower juice is sprayed over and/or inserted into the compost. - Preparation 508 - Common Horsetail (Equisetum arvenseEquisetum arvenseEquisetum arvense, commonly known as the Field Horsetail or Common Horsetail, is a rather bushy perennial with a rhizomatous stem formation native to the northern hemisphere. These horsetails may have sterile or fertile stems. Sterile stems start to grow after the fertile stems have wilted...
) made either as a fresh tea or as a fermented liquid manure is applied either to the vines (in this case usually as a tea) or to the soil (in this case usually as a liquid manure).
See also
- Organic wineOrganic wineThe most widely accepted definition of Organic wine is wine made from grapes grown in accordance with principles of organic farming, which typically excludes the use of artificial chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides....
- Natural wineNatural wineNatural wine is wine made with minimal chemical and technological intervention in growing grapes and making them into wine. The term is used to distinguish such wine from organic wine...
- Nicolas JolyNicolas JolyNicolas Joly, born 1945, is a French winegrower in the Loire wine region, and one of the pioneers and leading personalities of the biodynamic wine movement.- Biography :...
- Lalou Bize-LeroyLalou Bize-LeroyLalou Bize-Leroy, born 1932 as Marcelle Leroy is a female French winery owner in the Burgundy wine region. Madame Bize-Leroy is the owner of the wineries Domaine d'Auvenay and Domaine Leroy....
- Pascal Marchand
Articles
- "Converted: I'm a biodynamic believer" Globe and Mail, February 13, 2008
- "Think organic, then take a big holistic leap to biodynamics" Montreal Gazette, Feb. 23, 2008
- "Rainer Loacker", Wein-Plus magazine, Feb. 3, 2008
- "The stars go green too" Wein-Plus magazine, Feb. 25, 2008
- "Dolan's Code", Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Feb 20, 2008
- "Voodoo on the Vine", San Francisco Weekly, Nov. 18, 2008