Biodinamical and organical winemaking

Organic = meeting the specifications of an organic labelling authority. Depending on country can be more (France) or less (Italy) serious. In all cases never refers to organic wine (the concept does not exist) but only to the grapes used to make wine. Hence "wine from organically grown grapes" is the legal label. This means that once harvested the grapes can be vinified with no more contraints on the use of chemicals than those already in place for normal wines. From experience, some wines from organically grown grapes are great, but most are no better than the average and can contain huge amounts of SO2.

Biodynamic = organic wine that also follows some extra specifications by Demeter or Biodivin, all based on some really crazy ideas that somehow (i.e. in a way that does not imply a causality between the prescribed voodoo and the results) often result in some very good wines being made.

GREAT answer Mike. I think I will cut and paste it and keep it for the next time someone asks that inevitable question. But shouldn't one mention Steiner when referring to the philosophies of biodynamique?

Don't get me going on that subject... ;-)

Yes, Steiner is the basis for biodynamie. Great screen name, BTW.

Mark Lipton

Chuckle - thanks. Have posted for a long time as Ric, but decided to return to a nom de plume; it IS the interent, after all!

In fact I nominate it for the FAQ.

Jose

Didn't the former owners of Ch. Montrose start a biodynamic vineyard? Graham

First, all my excuses for being late. For some reasons totally unknown to me, my newsreader didn'd show afw for weeks, and for equally unknown reasons, today it worked again.

Sorry to contradict, but in German speaking countries, the concept does exist. The two lines are called "organisch-biologisch" and "biologisch-dynamisch", and wines obtained from both ways mal legally be called "Bio-Wein" (organic wine).

As I have said: Not true for At and DE (don't know about CH).

True for non-rganic wines, too.

"Often"? Hmmm ...

Here in Austria, some top growers (Loimer, Ott, Fritsch, Gernot Heinrich, John Nittnaus, Hans Czerny) are officially converting to biodynamics. Thus said, the best organic wines over here - which do compete with the best Austria has to offer - are grown organically by Ilse Maier from Geyerhof estate in Kremstal.

M.

Did I post a list?

Sorry, but I wanted to know about what's happening at DRC.

M.

Loimer, Ott, Fritsch, Gernot Heinrich, John Nittnaus, Hans Czerny

I heard about DRC going bioD also, but honestly I dont know the details...

Merci beaucoup e mille grazie!

M.