Biodynamics - Back In The News

Biodynamics seems to draw the best out of the soil and the worst out of people. From the gainsaying cosmologists and their ethereal pronouncements to the scathing naysayers whose logic is suspect and whose science is occasionally tainted by the desire to construct and disprove a “straw man theorem” the debate is not well served.  Indeed, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our meagre philosophies.

Firstly, let’s forget Steiner. You can believe in the spirit of the Bible without taking every word literally, but many of the naysayers analyse every spacecadetty geomantic utterance that Steiner ventilated and dissect it as if it were the very foundation of modern biodynamics. This misses the point by several parasangs. The what of biodynamics is more important than the why.  Whether or not we can test the methodology, we should ask ourselves why it is that so many leading wine growers (many of them with strong scientific backgrounds) have decided to adopt the biodynamic approach to viticulture.

Despite the peculiarly precise nature of the preparations (for example, weeds are combated by collecting seeds from the weeds and burning them above a wooden flame that was kindled by the weeds. The ashes from the seeds are then spread on the fields and lightly sprayed with the clear urine of a sterile cow (the urine should be exposed to the full moon for six hours), a measure intended to block the influence from the full moon on the particular weed and make it infertile) biodynamics is not an immutable series of tenets, rather more a collection of principles. One of our growers who adopts a half-way version, once chuckled to me: I believe in the earth but not the stars.  Biodynamics sees farms or vineyards as unified and individual organisms, emphasizing balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants, animals as a closed, self-nourishing system. Regarded by some proponents as the first modern ecological farming system, biodynamic farming includes organic agriculture’s emphasis on manures and composts and exclusion of the use of artificial chemicals on soil and plants. Methods unique to the biodynamic approach include the use of fermented herbal and mineral preparations as compost additives and field sprays and the use of an astronomical sowing and planting calendar.

The science of biodynamics with regard to the various preparations can be argued about until the cows come home and spread their manure on the fields. Biodynamic growers work according to natural rhythms and claim to have achieved improvements in the health of their vineyards, specifically in the areas of biodiversity, soil fertility, crop nutrition, and pest, weed, and disease management. If, as far as they are concerned, the improvements are verifiable, then who are we to argue? I realise that it is a flat earth argument, but I don’t need to know how electricity works to understand that it is a fact. Every time I flick a light switch I see the results. Farmers can see the effect of working the land in a specific way. They are closer to the land than any petrie dish or random soil sample.

My chief argument for biodynamics would be a moral one. Using natural solutions to natural problems is an intelligent and prescient approach to farming. It is also not just about taking something out of the land, but also putting something back in. The more you understand the vines the more you respect the land which nourishes them and the closer you are the rhythms of nature the better the vigneron you become.

Do biodynamic wines taste better? There are probably around five hundred growers who claim to be biodynamic; the roll call of names and the standard of wines are remarkably impressive. Leroy, Leflaive, Comte Armand, Lafon, Guy Roulot, Dauvissat, Joly, Prieure-Roch, Zind-Humbrecht, Ostertag, Deiss, Josmeyer, Clos Rougeard and Dagueneau are amongst the cream of the biodynamic crop with several stellar estates also in conversion. Most growers argue that there is a correlation between the methodology in the vineyard and the expression of terroir, the representation of specific place of origin in the wine’s aroma, flavour, and texture. Ray Isle, managing editor of Wine & Spirit magazine in the US, says, “It’s kind of a no-brainers a consumer. If you buy wines from producers who are biodynamic, you’re getting wines made (a) without pesticides and other inimical chemical whatnots, (b) with meticulous attention to detail in the vineyard, and (c) by growers who really believe that a vineyard’s character should be expressed in the wine. So what if they also think burying cow horns full of manure will help them channel new life forces from the cosmos?” A benchmark tasting a few years ago of biodynamic versus ordinary wines in New York in front of a top tasting panel showed biodynamic wines filling nine out of the top ten slots. Again this is not a scientific result, but one suspects that those who practice this form of agriculture are driven in the pursuit of quality.

What has muddied the discussion of biodynamics even further is the incorporation of organic practices into Steiner’s original ideas. Many of these practices – no-till soil preparation, use of compost, polyculture – are effective alternative methods of agriculture. These practices often have demonstrated positive effects on soil structure, soil flora and fauna, and disease suppression as they add organic matter and decrease compaction. Combining beneficial organic practices with the mysticism of biodynamics lends the latter a patina of scientific credibility that is not deserved. Many of the research articles that compare biodynamic with conventional agriculture do not separate the biodynamic preparations from the organic practices – and of course obtain positive results for the reasons mentioned earlier.

Linda Chalker-Scott 2004

Except that organics is a prerequisite of biodynamics - it’s fundamentally about good farming practice. Organic viticulture is, in effect, proscriptive – to be simplistic it details which chemicals are not allowed to be sprayed. Biodynamics is more prescriptive, describing practices that will improve biodiversity and vine health. Many growers cherry-pick those elements of biodynamics that they agree with such as Ricardo Perez Palacios of Bierzo fame.  He would say that the practices he adheres to in his vineyards leads to flavours are brighter, intensity and purity of fruit that is more apparent, natural acid and pH levels that are more balanced, and elegance and complexity that is enhanced. Biodynamics is about doing what is necessary to create the right preconditions for the vines to discover their natural balance in the ecosystem. Once that happens the wine has the opportunity of revealing its typicity.

The evidence is in the glass.