Bio Dynamic Wine
Biodynamic Wine
What is Biodynamic Wine? This completely organic wine is rather lovely and rather unusual too. Find out about our biodynamic wines including how they’re made and how they taste.
What Does Biodynamic Mean?
The concept behind biodynamics is that everything in the universe is interconnected and gives off a resonance or ‘vibe’. The interconnectivity of everything even includes the moon, the planets and stars. Biodynamic viticulture is the practice of balancing this relationship between vine, man, earth and stars. Biodynamics is basically a holistic view of farming which pre-dates organic agriculture by almost a quarter of a century.
The vineyard is viewed as the universe, and only that which is on the vineyard can be used to grow and nurture the grapes. So, you’ll have chickens feeding on the bugs on the vines, sheep, allowed to graze in between the vine rows produce fertiliser etc. In fact, biodiversity is encouraged, bees in the vineyard produce honey, cicadas, butterflies etc plus an abundance of indigenous weeds and wildflowers. If you ever get the chance to visit a biodynamic vineyard, it is positively teaming with wildlife. Motor vehicles are usually not permitted on site, and in many cases, horses are used to get around, and also those Segeway things .
Special preparations of organic matter such as nettles and yarrow are stuffed inside cow horns and then buried deep underground for a minimum of 4 years. These preparations are then dug up (probably horribly stinky) to be distributed across the vineyard as fertiliser.
The concept of Biodynamics started in the 1920’s with philosopher Rudolph Steiner who also created the Steiner School movement. It is a holistic and homeopathic manner of farming that also includes viticulture.
What Makes Wine Biodynamic?
Biodynamics occur primarily in the vineyard before winemaking even happens. A special biodynamic calendar regulates all the viticultural tasks such as pruning, planting and harvesting.
Each biodynamic calendar day coincides with one of the four classical elements of Earth, Fire, Air and Water:
- Fruit Days: Best days for harvesting grapes
- Root Days: Ideal days for pruning
- Flower Days: Leave the vineyard alone on these days
- Leaf Days: Ideal days for watering plants
Its very important, (according to Rudolf Steiner) that biodynamic wine drinking take place only on fruit and flower days…. A leaf or a root day and you won’t enjoy your wine as much. Many believe that there can be no truth in any of this, and that it’s a load of old bunkum. However, some are dedicated to producing wine in this way. The proof we guess is in the drinking…