Is Biodynamic Wine Better?

Is Biodynamic Wine Better?

Susan Allen
Susan Allen
I’m Susan Allen welcome to our weekly Vine to Wine Wednesday segment on the Fruit Grower Report. It seems every grape growers interprets the term biodynamic differently. Some might add soil odd soil implements like cattle horns while other only harvest according to a biodynamic calendar. Does this make for a better wine? I remembered an online seminar international wine critic Jeremy Oliver gave a few months back where when asked if biodynamic wine growing was better he replied. “Sometimes” He said it creates healthier soil, and there’s no doubt in many situations a biodynamic approach to growing grapes will produce a healthier vineyard with more microbial life in the soil, insects and a naturally stronger and more resistant grapevine. But good wine is about the grapes and the downside is that if biodynamic practitioners only pick by biodynamic calendar dates, called shoot days or fruit days they could risk picking at the time when the grape is at zenith. Unless they are lucky ! The other significant weakness he mentioned is that by taking a crop off a vineyard every single year you risk depleting that site of considerable nutrients. If you do that you’ve got to replace that nutrient because if you don’t you will end up with a vineyard that unable to maintain the health of the vines and produces good fruit.

Oliver: “ Unfortunately however the tag biodynamic in my opinion has become more of a marketing exercise, perhaps a philosophical exercise than an exercise solely designed to maximize wine quality design from any given vineyard. For more insight from Oliver check out Vinewine tv. This is Susan Allen for the Tree Fruit Grower Report.

 

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