04 Sep Biodynamic Viticulture
When it pertains to wine making, there’s a trend that’s getting some traction. As the pendulum has actually swung large in favor of big box shops, moving even more and further far from homegrown, locally-sourced food and beverages, some of us find ourselves yearning to return to an easier way of life. We ‘d like to live more connected to the earth, understand where our food originates from and how it’s grown, and we’re interested in adding to our local economies more than big-name superstores.
In addition to an increased focus on nutrition these days, more people wish to be self-dependent with less reliance on external sources for food. These grass-root viewpoints are getting appeal as we seek to reconnect with earth’s olden cycles of systems and seasons, profiting from them for our nourishment and benefit.
And it isn’t really simply occurring with exactly what we consume; it’s taking place in the wine market, too. People have an interest in food and beverages that have been grown utilizing natural techniques, ensuring that exactly what they put in their bodies hasn’t been treated with hazardous insecticides and pesticides. Sure, those things keep the pests down, but they also enter our food, which indicates that we consume those very same hazardous impurities.
That’s why people go organic. Nowadays, there’s a trend to push the organic envelope even further by using the philosophies of biodynamic farming, methods that more vintners are starting to make use of. So … exactly what’s the idea behind it?
Biodynamic farming is natural, but it encompasses more than growing crops without using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or insecticides. It looks at farming through a cyclical lens: the concept being that exactly what you grow will feed your animals, and the waste from the animals is then used to fertilize crops. Basically, you do not utilize any outdoors resources to “feed the farm”; the farm can stand alone.
Biodynamics incorporates some spiritual ideas. Alan Brockman, a farmer who was understood for using biodynamic techniques in his farming, talked about how it’ s actually not such a strange philosophy if you stop and consider it.
For folks that get excited about great wine, one of the strong arguments in favor of farming in this manner is that it tends to yield a more authentic terroir. Due to the fact that absolutely nothing artificial is used in this farming approach, the idea is that the soil is fed through natural processes, enabling it to progress in an authentic method. Thus, the terroir is the genuine article, something that hasn’t been customized or changed by unnatural methods.
As Ray Isle says in his article, Biodynamics: The Next Trend:
“At its most basic, the biodynamic method to grape-growing sees the vineyard as an eco-friendly whole: not simply rows of grapevines, but the soil below them– an organism in its own right– and the other plants and animals in the location, growing together interdependently. Where biodynamics varies from other types of sustainable or organic farming is in its concept that farming can be attuned to the spiritual forces of the universes. The most reliable argument for biodynamics is that wines produced utilizing it are more evocative of the location they’re grown– and, as a result, better.”
So, whether it sounds cracked up to you or not, it stands to reason that utilizing natural techniques would make for a much better terroir– and thus, a much better tasting wine. And, as a motorcoach service provider, among the important things we love to do with groups is take them to take pleasure in gorgeous vineyards and scrumptious tastings on our wine tours. Call for more info today if you’re interested in learning more about these fun getaways!
Info for this post came from the following sources:
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/biodynamics-the-next-trend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ykJR3f7Zo