biodynamics

"Our family's goal is to grow grapes and make wines with a unique sense of place. We believe this is best achieved through Biodynamic winemaking and farming. Biodynamics integrates the vineyard with its surrounding ecology, enlivening and increasing the intensity of the living forces that surround a vine above and below the ground. Over time, the vine and environment intertwine and become one. This is the start of the French concept of terroir."

- Mike Benziger

What is Biodynamic Farming?

Biodynamics is a wholistic farming approach developed in the 1920s by scientist Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian philosopher who created Waldorf education. Our 85-acre ranch achieved Biodynamic certification in 2000, through the Demeter Association, an independent third-party certifier for traditional Biodynamic winemaking practices.

While it encompasses many of the principles of organic farming, such as the elimination of all chemicals, Biodynamics goes further, requiring close attention to the varied forces of nature influencing the vine. It also emphasizes a closed, self-sustaining ecosystem. We are as attentive to the 30 acres of gardens, woodland, riparian areas, wetlands, cover crops and wildlife sanctuaries that comprise our 85-acre ranch, as we are the 42 acres planted to winegrapes.

Biodynamic Farming

• Promotes the individuality of a given site by minimizing outside influences and recycling all farm and wine residues back into the vineyards.
• Emphasizes soil health as a means of increasing the health of the vine and cultivating aroma, color and texture in the wine.
• Uses no chemically synthesized fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fumigants, hormones, antibiotics, growth regulators or GMOs. Reliance on these synthetics reduces the ability of the vine to absorb nutrients from the soil, leaving it susceptible to disease. Over time, these chemicals kill the soil and the environment.
• Employs a series of eight herbal-based preparations applied to the soil in order to promote soil vitality through increased microbiologic activity and diversity (think of these as vitamins for the plant and soil). The more nutrient-rich and biologically diverse the soils, the more character in the wine.
• Uses cover crops and companion plants to maximize the health of the vineyard environment.
• Promotes pest control through soil management; Biodynamic sprays and teas; crop rotations and diversification; and the encouragement of diverse animal, bird and insect populations that lead to self-regulating predator and prey relationships.
• Aligns vineyard practices (planting, pruning, etc.) with the earth's natural cycles (lunar, seasonal) for maximum health and development of the vines.

What Others Are Saying About Biodynamics

Renowned winemaker Michel Rolland declares: "The future will be Biodynamic."

Wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr. says he is "certain of the quality of the products emanating from several of the domaines practicing Biodynamic viticulture."

Anne-Claude Laflaive, manager of the prestigious Domaine Leflaive's Burgundy vineyards, maintains that Biodynamics has improved the quality of her vines and wines.

"Biodynamics is the aikido or ashtanga yoga of winegrowing -- a way to focus energy and awareness for peak performance and exceptional health. Sick vineyards need homeopathy; biodynamic vineyards radiate a vigor that can be felt. Like Barry Bonds turning a 100-mph fastball into a soaring arc headed for McCovey Cove, biodynamic vineyards are completely aligned with their purpose, and therefore able to channel all the forces of the moment into a powerful result." - Thom Elkjer, "Cutting-edge vintners put their wines to a taste test ", San Francisco Chronicle, July 1, 2004