BIODYNAMICS

Redefining Biodynamics

What it Means

"Biodynamic® agriculture is a philosophy and methodology that views a farm as a self-sustaining ecosystem entirely responsible for creating and maintaining its individual health and vitality without any external and unnatural additions. The standards for a Demeter Certified Biodynamic farm are quite rigorous, including the organic certification prohibitions against the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and going much further to include a biodiversity set aside of 10% of total land, on-farm fertility and pest control, rigorous processing standards that emphasize minimal product manipulation, and most importantly whole farm certification (versus a particular crop or area allowed in organic certification). It is one of the most sustainable forms of agriculture, creating healthier food for healthier people and a healthier planet." -- Demeter USA.


Why It Matters

Our vineyards and our wines are a reflection of our culture and ethics. We produce wine to be enjoyed around the dinner table, with good food, family and friends. We believe certification matters and is important to our customers, and earned our Demeter Biodynamic certification in Summer 2008. We are committed to producing finely crafted wines that express "a taste of the earth,” and we believe nothing achieves that with more clarity and purity than farming our wine grapes Biodynamically. This means instead of applying chemical pesticides and herbicides, you might find us spraying chamomile or diluted milk on our grapes. And to make sure our vines have the richest, healthiest soil possible, we interplant them with nitrogen rich cover crops and return our skins, seeds and clippings to the soil each spring as compost.

Yep, sounds crazy, but it consistently produces some of the best fruit we’ve tasted… and in the end, that translates into a wine crafted with intent, showcasing lively flavors that is immediately pleasurable at the dinner table. And that is what matters most for us and for you.

#Biodynamic Tweets

"The soils used to be heavily compacted, meaning water would run right off," he said. "Within a year after we started using biodynamic preparations here, you could sink a shovel into the ground without any effort at all. The difference was amazing."

"The same is true of the vines", he said. "Once droopy and limp, the plants now arch toward the sun. That provides better air circulation through the canopy of leaves around the grapes, limiting the costly need to hand-pluck leaves during growing season."


- Rudy Marchesi