Due to an increasingly over populated planet, and over one hundred years of irresponsible growth and pollution, we are finally starting to return our attention and actions to a more natural and 'organic' way of life, moving forward to a step back in time if you will. From electric cars and the banning of plastic shopping bags, to the availability of 100% certified organic breads and cereals, fruits and vegetables and even coffee and chocolate, there is thankfully a strong and present movement in the right direction.
In the wine world, vines have been cultivated 'organically' since day one, long before the term 'organic' in its present definition, existed. Historically, that was the only way to farm. For the last 15 years or so the words 'organic' and 'biodynamic' and now 'sustainable,' have been increasingly more present on wine labels and in winery descriptions. Here in Europe and across the globe, organic wine fairs, tastings and conventions are popping up on what seems like a daily basis (this spring I attended a biodynamic wine fair in Hong Kong), and a subculture of natural wine makers has emerged and is growing stronger each vintage, as more and more 'classic' producers are switching over their agriculture to organic and/or biodynamic. This is especially exciting and encouraging not only for the aware and conscious consumer, but for a promising and healthier future in viticulture.
We have all become very conscious and educated about the food we put in our body, and the products we use on a daily basis. This should not be any different when we are deciding which wine to pair with our dinner of free range organic chicken, organic vegetables and artisanal bread made from organic whole wheat. Why go through all the trouble to then drink a wine that is full of chemicals? Seems kind of counter productive doesn't it?
At Sokolin we have decided to highlight sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines, to provide an easy and informative place for the natural wine drinker to shop.
In addition, the most common question we are receiving on a daily basis is for an explanation of the difference between organic, sustainable and biodynamic. This is not an easy task, and information is sparse and varies. Here I have attempted a brief yet concise definition and explanation to help you understand the incredible amount of work and dedication of these winemakers to grow their vines organically, biodynamically and sustainably.
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE:
What essentially defines organic farming is the fundamental concept to not pollute the soil or the plant. Parameters and rules have been designed to what you can and can not use in the vineyard, and more specifically the amounts of these products you are allowed to use.
In organic viticulture it is illegal to use:
- Residual Chemicals
- Chemical Fertilizers
- Herbicides
- Insecticides
- Fungicides
Instead, it is permitted to use only in a predetermined minimal quantity:
- Sulfur
- Copper
Sulfur is primarily used in powder form, and distributed onto the vines in order to prevent and combat powdery mildew. The amount and times during the season it is used varies depending on the region. There are regions more prone to mildew that will need to spray up to once a week, and others that are a much drier climate that can also spray only once or twice during the growing season. Whatever the amount will be, the farmer will use the minimal amount to keep his vines healthy.
Copper is used against downy mildew. The amount of copper allowed is only up to 6kg per hectare.
In order to work without herbicides, these producers must work in between the rows with small tractors in order to keep them clean, as well as by hand near the roots of the vines.
In order to keep the fruit healthy and free from harmful molds and rot, more than one green harvest is necessary (cutting back the leaves and keeping the air moving around the fruit), all by hand in order to give each bunch of fruit the right balance of light and air. This work is often done by machines in larger more industrial estates, saving on time and labor costs, but this is not as efficient as doing it by hand as each plant is different and needs to be pruned differently.
In essence, the organic farmer needs to spend much more time working the vines and land by hand in order to evade the use of chemicals. The goal is to keep the plant and soil healthy and on a 'natural' diet. As all natural wine makers say, it is impossible to make a good wine from poor unhealthy fruit, and the real 'work' of wine is done in the vineyard!
BIODYNAMIC AGRICULTURE:
Whereas organic farming is based on not using chemicals, biodynamic farming takes that concept to a further and much more complex level of giving life back to the soil and creating an environment for the plant to become autonomous, providing her with the nutrients and microsystem to resist disease on her own. One analogy I like to use is that of antibiotics in human medicine. Those that are accustomed to taking antibiotics at the first sneeze of a cold, will eventually build an intolerance to that specific antibiotic and need to either change or increase the prescription, weakening the natural immune system, and killing and or weakening the antibodies they produce naturally on our own. The same is true for a plant. Its own defense system will become weakened by the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides year after year, and eventually without these chemicals will not be able to exist on its own.
Biodynamic agriculture was founded by an Austrian philosopher named Rudolf Steiner in 1923 and is a fascinating and extremely profound and complex subject, practice and belief. I believe a quick history is pertinent to understanding the core and objective of Biodynamics.
In 1922 and 1923 a group of farmers sought the help of Rudolf Steiner on the increasing degeneration they had noticed in seed-strains and many cultivated plants. They pointed out that crops that were commonly grown in the same field for as many as thirty years, had dwindled to the point where it was a challenge to keep them growing in the same spot for even four years. Farmers were also finding that they were no longer able to seed new crops from their own rye, wheat, oats and barley, and instead had to resort to new strains of seed every few years. Another contemporary of Steiner, a Dr. Wachsmuth, went to Steiner with questions about plant diseases, and his reply was that plants themselves could never be diseased in a primary sense, 'since they are the products of a healthy etheric world.' Instead, he explained, they [the plants] suffer from diseased conditions in their environment, especially in the soil. These so-called plant diseases should be sought there. In 1923 Rudolf Steiner gave the first 'instructions' or 'descriptions' on how to make biodynamic compost preparations to 'cure' these conditions. He followed up with eight lectures on the biodynamic method that is still the basis for biodynamic farming today.**
Biodynamic farming is based on this fundamental theme of the health of the soil, the biodiversity cultivated in the vineyards, combined with the integral and important influence of the moon, sun and stars. There are predetermined preparations that need to be used, some directly on the plant, some in the compost, and all at pre-determined times depending on the cycle of the plant as well as the cosmos. These preparations also all need to be 'prepared' in a specific manner, called 'dynamization' which is charging the preparations or biologic processes (essentially put into a 'stirring' machine).
In essence biodynamic farming is also organic, combined with an entire discipline to work the land and the plant that is not only a 'set of rules and guidelines' but a belief and school of thought in and of itself. In essence, it is like the ancient Chinese proverb, if you give a man a fish he eats for a day, if you teach a man to fish, he can feed himself for a lifetime. Organic farming is more the idea of feeding the plant that healthy nutritious 'fish' everyday (not polluting the soil, and using organic fertilizers), whereas biodynamic farming is 'teaching the plant to fish' on its own by giving life back to the soil and allowing the plant to feed and defend itself.
For more information on biodynamic farming and a list of producers visit:
https://www.biodynamy.com/membres_en.php. The biodynamic wine group founded by Nicolas Joly.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE:
The most simple definition of sustainable farming would be; raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, respects animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports and enhances rural communities; basically, environmentally conscious farming. This being said, there are many wine producers that call themselves 'sustainable,' for lack of a better term to define organic farming without certification. Currently organic farming comes with a price to the producer - they need to pay a fee each year for the certification, whereas farming with chemicals is free. Many producers have a moral problem with this, and therefore refuse to certify with the government, even though they farm 100% organic and compliant with all of the guidelines set in place by the specific country's standards for organic farming. The best way to shop for 'sustainable' wines is to do your homework on the specific producer.
This article just scratches the surface of the world of organic and biodynamic farming. In order to write this short piece I asked for the help of organic produer Fabrizio Iuli (certified organic), and biodynamic producers Nicoletta Bocca and Cinzia Bocchino (the Bocchino estate is in the process of converting to Biodynamic and San Fereolo is already certified biodynamic). In reading articles, books, and talking with the producers themselves I became more and more fascinated by the biodynamic method, and have decided in my next life to dedicate my studies to it! For now I'll have to just soak up as much as I can whenever I have the opportunity to, and keep drinking these inspiring wines made with human hands, full of heart and soul and most importantly, made from fruit that was allowed to be herself, in her most natural and un-modified state.
** Agriculture Course, "The Birth of the Biodynamic Method", Rudolf Steiner. Translated by George Adams. Published by Rudolf Steiner Press 2004