COVER STORY How Green Is Your Wine? Today’s organic and biodynamic producers JULIANNE WILL bout 40 consumers filled a classroom on a hand to describe the methods used at her fam- A recent weeknight at Just Grapes, a wine store ily’s Sonoma vineyards, all of which are either in downtown Chicago, to hear a presentation Demeter-certified Biodynamic, certified organic, on biodynamic wines. Erinn Benziger was on or sustainably farmed. Almost before she could Sommelier Journal 47 gredients are all spurring consumers to wonder what’s in their glasses. “I think demand for these types of wines is very high because as a planet, we are starting to think more about what we consume and how it made it to our table,” says Brian Vaughan, a Chi- cago consultant for Distinctive Wine and Spirits. “It seems like more of a psychographic rather than a demographic. More educated consumers are more concerned with global warming and organic wines and foods.” That psychographic is what prompted the class on biodynamics at Just Grapes. Don Sritong, the owner and a corporate sommelier, says he has seen a dramatic increase in consumer curi- osity over the past year: “The reasons range from being environmentally conscious and myths of allergies to purity of flavor. What we have found with most customers is that if they can get an organic/biodynamic wine that is as good for the same price or slightly more, they will choose the organic/biodynamic wine eight of 10 times.” That doesn’t necessarily hold true every- where—even within the same city. Tony Basich, owner of Chicago’s Vintage Wine Bar, says he hasn’t felt the impact of the green movement Flow forms used to mix biodynamic preparations at Patianna Organic Vineyards in Mendocino County, Calif. (above); workers till the soil on Domaine Leflaive’s land in Burgundy (right). begin, hands went up to ask the question: What is biodynamics, and how is it different from or- Julianne Will passed the ganic winemaking? introductory level of the It’s a question consumers are asking now Court of Master Som- more than ever, as interest in green agricultur- meliers last summer. She al practices has skyrocketed. Products labeled left a career in market- “natural” or “organic” have seen double-digit ing and publishing this sales growth in recent years and now net close to spring to pursue freelance $21 billion annually, according to the December writing full time, covering 2007 “Healthy-by-Design Foods Report” from food, wine, fitness, travel, Technomics; the company predicts sales of or- and other subjects. She ganic and natural products to grow at a 15-20% has also authored or co- compounded average annual rate through 2010. authored four best-selling Catholic children’s books. The rise of the Slow Food movement, the She lives in Chicago and explosion of farmers’ markets and gourmet gro- can be reached through ceries, the growth of the foodie culture with its her website, www. omnipresent blogs, and the popularity of chefs juliannewill.com. who tout their local, seasonal, and natural in- Photos by Marc Plantec, courtesy Domaine of Leflaive (previous page, bottom); photo courtesy Patianna of Organic Vineyards (top) 48 August 2008 How Green Is Your wIne? Workers at Burgundy’s Domaine Leflaive (above); chickens patrol for insects at Pati- anna Organic Vineyards in Mendocino County, Calif. (right). from the customers filling his establishment. of sulfur dioxide limits a wine to the category of He’s still working on basic wine education for “made with organic ingredients,” where the prod- those who have only recently decided to trade in uct must be at least 70% organic. Even then, total their vodka martinis. sulfite concentration cannot exceed 100 ppm. But at The Little Nell in Aspen, Colo., wine That 70% standard is the one most closely director Richard Betts, MS, finds a constant de- aligned with the European Union’s definition of mand for recommendations on organic and bio- “wine made from organically grown grapes.” The Don Sritong of Chicago’s dynamic wines. “I’m hearing more interest in EU applies its certification only to practices in Just Grapes (top); the Loire’s organic wine all the time,” Betts says. “Some— the vineyard; winemaking procedures and per- Nicolas Joly (bottom). that’s all they want to drink.” mitted levels of sulfur dioxide may vary among individual certifying bodies. Sulfur dioxide is used by almost every wine What’s in a Label? producer as an antiseptic, preservative, and anti- Organic and Biodynamic certifying orga- oxidant, whether in vineyard spraying, in barrel nizations have sprung up worldwide with the aging, or in bottling. Popular perception blames purpose of reassuring consumers that a precise, sulfites for the infamous red-wine headache, rigorous set of standards has been met. As with but research has shown that histamines or other Benziger Family Winery, certification can dem- sources are as often the cause, and that people onstrate a winemaker’s commitment to these with true sulfite sensitivities may have reactions practices—but can still be a source of confusion to a variety of foods. Even without the addition for many. Frequent changes in U.S. organic la- of sulfur dioxide, the grape seeds, stems, and beling laws aren’t helping matters. skins naturally contain trace amounts of sulfites, The U.S. Department of Agriculture is re- making it impossible to eliminate them from sponsible for food-labeling standards in this wine entirely. country. To be labeled “100% organic,” a product must contain 100% organically produced ingre- dients. To be labeled simply “organic,” a product Digging a Little Deeper must contain at least 95% organic ingredients. While organic winemaking follows a natu- Generally speaking, an organic wine must be ralistic approach to viticulture, biodynamics made without the use of genetically modified goes several steps further. Based on a philosophy organisms or artificial pesticides, fertilizers, outlined by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner and other compounds. And because an organic in the 1920s, biodynamics takes a holistic view Photo courtesyPhoto Patianna of Organic Vineyards (top left); photo by Marc Plantec, courtesy Domaine of Leflaiveproduct (top right) cannot contain added sulfites, the use of growing systems and their interconnectiv- courtesyPhoto Just of Grapes photo by (top); Mick Rock/Cephas (bottom) Sommelier Journal 49 A biodynamic preparation is sprayed on Domaine Leflaive’s vineyard (left); Domaine Leflaive’s new school of wine and terroir teaches professionals about the importance of soil, biodiversity, and organic viticulture (above). ity with the earth’s seasonal rhythms and lunar subject, What Is Biodynamic Wine?, was pub- cycles. To wine drinkers who have heard about lished last year, and in 2001, he founded the stuffing cow horns with manure and burying Return to Terroir/Renaissance des Appella- them at a certain time of the year, or of concoct- tions group (see table), whose members adhere ing all-natural sprays that are stirred first in one to organic and biodynamic principles. Many direction and then the other, biodynamics may growers, however, prefer practice over certifica- Rachel Driver of Chicago’s Lush wine shops (top); seem to have more in common with astrology tion—which makes it a challenge to know what German exporter Georg than with agriculture. international wines are made organically or bio- Mueller (bottom). The essence of biodynamic farming, howev- dynamically without reading every label or visit- er, is the development of a self-sustaining, self- ing every website. “This method of cultivation contained ecosystem. Flowers are planted be- is quickly spreading among discerning growers, tween rows to attract the good bugs that eat the so the list is expanding exponentially with little bad bugs that prey on vines; animals are raised to documentation or official certification,” says provide fertilizer and consume unwanted weeds; Rachel Driver, manager of Lush wine shops in ponds are built with natural aeration systems to Chicago. “Some growers quietly get on with it, filter water. True biodynamics is specific in its while others shout about it. And there are always use of horn manure and horn-silica field prepa- those growers that practice ‘almost’ organic and rations. Biodynamic compost includes starters biodynamic, or dabble in it and experiment with such as yarrow and chamomile. And the appli- implementing pieces of the ‘bio-d’ philosophy. cation of these compounds and other vineyard The system is always in flux, shifting as each procedures are timed to the lunar cycle. season presents challenges and opportunities Demeter International is the worldwide Bio- for growers across the world.” dynamic certifying body. Its practices are out- Georg Mueller, sales manager for his wife’s lined in a 41-page document, but its overall goal, wine importing and exporting business in Nack- as stated on its website, is simple: “The aim is enheim, Germany, has seen a surge in demand always to practice agriculture in such a manner for organic wines among his younger clients in that structuring the farm as an integrated unit the United States. But as he notes, many small, results in productivity and health, and that those organic wineries in Europe have no website in inputs needed for production are generated out English to explain their approach. “Here, only the of the farm itself.” salesperson can advise or educate,” Mueller says. Nicolas Joly, who has been farming biody- A good relationship with a trusted repre- namically in the Loire for years, is noted for his sentative is essential, and a little digging can leadership in France. His second book on the also turn up a wealth of information. “I think 50 August 2008 How Green Is Your wIne? The biodynamic approach includes the use of fermented herbal and mineral preparations as compost additives and field sprays (above); Domaine Leflaive’s horse Ouragon plowing the vineyard (right).