ENLIGHTENED DIET: Organic versus Mystical Winemaking

With modern machinery, irrigation, and nitrogen-rich fertilizers, the last 50 years have seen vineyards imposed on seemingly any available real estate, so it is not surprising that there is real contention between large, corporatized vineyards and vineyards that are carefully adapted to a suitable ecosystem, especially the organic vineyards that avoid synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides.
One of the more surprising fault lines, however, is between organic practi- tioners and a more radical group — about 500 vineyards worldwide — that believes organic is not enough. These are the biodynamic winemakers, who trace their lineage to Rudolph Steiner, founder of anthroposophy and Waldorf education, who began biodynamics with his now famous Agriculture Course of 1924. Biodynamic winemakers believe that fine wine must be true to the land.
The biodynamic method is to improve the health of the ecosystem by nurturing a large array of native organisms — bacteria, worms, plants, insects, animals, etc. — to better deter the spread of disease. The vine is only one part. Biodynamics is about subtly manipulating all of these life forces to achieve synergy unique to that ecosystem. If the dirt is healthy and ripe with minerals, the vine will transfer that prosperity to the grape, assuring flavorful wines.
In practice, biodynamic winemakers make their own composts, strategically plant fruit and nut trees among the vines, spray chamomile and other natural teas following homeopathic principles, and utilize other ancient practices, all in accordance with lunar cycles. With such an abundance of grasses, flowers, and trees amongst the vines, biodynamic vineyards don’t resemble the monotone, cropped look of their fertilizer-fed peers.
The vitality of biodynamic vines is displayed in a multitude of ways, from earlier harvest times to much deeper root systems enabling the vine to better handle drought, disease, and frost. And yes, in a great many cases the resulting wines are stunningly balanced, complex, and unique — so much so that more than a few of the world’s most prestigious wineries have gone biodynamic, a lengthy, labor-intensive process.
Of course, there are problems. Foremost, no one can adequately explain why biodynamic methods work. And the first year after converting to biodynamic can be traumatic on land and winemaker alike, according to Mike Benziger, biodynamic winemaker at the Benziger winery in California’s Sonoma County. He refers to this period — before the vineyard’s natural defenses have matured — as the “yuck zone” because of the inevitable bouts with disease and damaged crops. Stick it out, he says, and the biodynamic way “will lead the spirit in man to the spirit in the universe.”
To learn more, talk to your wine-shop owner or visit the following websites:
biodynamics.com
forkandbottle.com/wine/biodynamic_producers.htm
demeter-usa.org
benziger.com

Matt Sutherland