Biodynamics - a viticulturist's view

We have a V&O student forum at Lincoln University, where posts about tastings, announcements, and other tidbits can be seen by all. One student just put up a, shall we say, "incite"-ful post about Biodynamics. That is to say, they were attempting to stir the pot...


I thought I would put in my two cents worth, from my view as a viticulturist, so I've repeated it here:

My experiences with Biodynamics goes back to when I first visited James Millton up in Gisborne more than 10 years ago. He makes fantastic wines, and in one of the more difficult places to grow grapes in NZ due to the increased disease pressure there.

Some of my research dealt with maximising vines' natural resistance to fungal diseases through phytoalexins, so he invited me up there to have a chat and see what they were doing.

As a viticulturist, I came away from it not really wondering what the effects of the Biodynamic preparations were, but rather being impressed with the amount of attention paid to the soil, the vines and the grapes.

Growing organically or Biodynamically means that the viticulturist has to be much more "in tune" with the grapes and the environment. In order to manage diseases, and since they don't have fungicides as effective as synthetic ones, they need to be much more aware of what the canopies are like, and manage them more actively. This means they are out looking at the vines more often and putting into effect management decisions in a timely fashion: staying ahead of the problems.

So my take on this topic is that it isn't necessarily the preparations or ethos of Biodynamics and the Steiner principles that are at work, but rather viticulturists that are much more aware of what is going on in their vineyards, and anticipating problems rather than reacting to them.

Anything that gets people into their vineyards more and looking critically and thoughtfully about their vines has got to be better for the health of the vineyard and the quality of the grapes, regardless if it comes about through a belief in anthroposophism, the principles of organic farming, or an obsessive-compulsive disorder relating to lianas...  :-)