Biodynamic wine?

We've had variations on this before. Now, I certainly think parts of biodynamics are over the top. The kind of mystical astrological stuff, burying cow horns, the ashing of pests.....I just can't see it. But when you look at the list of producers who follow these methods- Domaine Leflaive, Chapoutier (domaine only), Joly, Kreydenweiss, Huet, Leroy, Ch. Ste. Anne, Zind-Humbrecht, Lafon, Brocard, Clos Roche Blanche, Gravner, etc. - they make some pretty good wines! So how to explain this?

Best I can come up with is that using Biodynamics means that the producer is dedicated to putting a lot of care into the vines, and in such a way that tends to bring out ...terroir (sorry all you terroir-haters!). By its nature biodynamism is in some ways the opposite of big agri-business, with all problems being solved by a handy application of pesticide or whatever. It's not that the biodynamic approach in itself is better, it just tends to be a clue of a caring grower. Certainly there's lots of great growers who don't use Biodynamics!

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Well summarized Dale.

Unlike organically grown wines ("bio" in France) where you may find that so many producers are quite uninteresting, in the case of biodynamics the mystical blabla somehow attracts people that are willing to turn careful grape growing into a religion. While we may dismiss most of the claptrap as non-causal, the attitude of the winemaker is key: respect for the planet, respect for the grapes and the wine, respect for the drinker. I have not yet come upon a bad biodynamic wine. There are some mediocre ones, mainly from people that do things half assed (they do mechanical harvesting and vinify industrially, after doing all the cow horn thing... at least be consistent for Steiner's sake!).

I just wish that they would not talk so much, it comes across as either ignorant superstition or cunning marketing, all the bit about telluric forces, vibrations, energies, and other magic concepts.

Our own AFW occasional participant Francis Boulard is slowly converting his Champagne vines to bio-D.

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

I guess one major problem is that a producer is either bio or not, I doubt anyone is producing bio and non bio from the same vineyard at the same time. The producers may be zealots about vineyard health, low yields etc without following Oooga Booga magic. I think a great wine is magic regardless of how it's produced. I simply loathe pseudo-scientific bunk, like magnetic wine agers. Are there any EU laws regarding Biodynamic practices? Is there a guide on which producers are bio and or organic?