Playing the Biodynamic Card
Shane Golden, Manager of Whelehans Wines
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” Arthur C. Clark
In a previous incarnation, before wine took charge of my faculties, I made a study out of Computer Science and managed to craft a living around it. So long ago now that the Internet was merely a glint in Bill Gates’ eye. The Boolean duality of logic and reason,1s and 0s, true and false chimed with my own personal philosophy. Reason and logic can and must prevail!
But in a complete separation of heart and mind I also, paradoxically, fashioned a pastime out of reading Tarot cards. It became clear that I had some talent for it judging by the reactions. This presented a quandry for me. Reigning in my ego, I was never less than certain that I had no special abilities. Being clairvoyant is simply not my thing, nor anyone else’s. I had a good recall of each card’s representation, the remaining narrative then simply filled in by the participant. But my abiding memory is that almost without fail, and beyond reason, people found it helpful.
To the pure rationalists amongst you, Biodynamics is a pseudoscience up there with Tarot cards, crystal healing, homeopathy (of which Biodynamics pays more than a passing nod to) and all-round magical thinking. Its principles and philosophy are unquestionably commendable. As modern organic farming’s quirky uncle it views the vineyard as a self-sustaining entity. A healthy soil is its cornerstone, all natural with everything needed for its survival contained within. Hard to argue with that, you say. It is in execution of these principles that eyebrows are raised.
Vineyard and winery activities are guided by celestial and lunar cycles. Watering, pruning, harvesting and even bottling are done on specific days. Many people also believe that wine tastes better at certain times. I’ve experienced this myself, days where no wine tastes good. Fruit days are considered the best time to drink wine. That is when the moon is in one of the astrological fires signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius). The burial of a preparation, glorified manure, in cow’s horns is both commonplace and essential.Homeopathic spiritz’ for the plants such as quartz (to prevent fungal infection) and valerian (to relieve plant stress) need to be dynamized. Giving further proof to those who see this as an extension of magical thinking is its founder Rudolph Steiner.
While public life in the late 19th and early 20th Century had no shortage of occultists and spiritualists, Steiner made the case for himself as being the prototype. Many of his ideas make perfect sense so long as you believe in reincarnation.
What’s undeniable is that the principles and practices he laid down now help produce wines of distinct character, brightness and purity and are some of the most sought after in the world.
Best in class producers such as Roederer, Romanée-Conti, Zind-Humbrecht and Felton Road all farm in this way. The fact that converting to biodynamics means in all likelihood you are succumbing to lower yields and therefore less profit is a reflection of how seriously many converted estates take its philosophy.
No conversation about Biodynamics in wine is complete without mentioning the French winemaker and biodynamic pioneer Nicolas Joly. Farming in this way since the early 80s, his estate, Coulée de Serrant, is one of the few French vineyards that are considered significant enough to be its own appellation. To Joly, the idea of wine expressing its terroir, or sense of place, can only be achieved by farming biodynamically.
He sums it up with a smile in a recent interview “biodynamics is a sort of acoustic that makes life a little better….It looks like black magic”
Biodynamics presents a dilemma to those of us who require certainty. Beliefs like these can’t be measured. What’s undeniable is that those who farm this way all fall under the umbrella of organic and sustainable farming and that these wines exhibit a distinct personality and quality all of their own.
Maybe some things will forever lie beyond reason.
Tasting Notes:- A Spanish-style Garnacha, but not as you know it. Thoroughly modern in execution, this has a light almost translucent appearance belying the fact that it is ABV 14.5% and full of flavour. Floral with hints of red licorice, maraschino cherries and baking spice. There is also an oxidative note that on the first nose might have you thinking you’re drinking an amontillado sherry. Distinctly idiosyncratic, a hallmark of many biodynamically-farmed wines.
Grape: 100% Grenache
Region: Montsant, Spain
ABV: 14.5%
Ageing: 12 Months in old French oak barriques
