organic and biodynamic
Organic and Biodynamic wines are natural and sustainable. They are being made by more and more individual producers both as a lifestyle choice and as a backlash against the system that ‘encourages’ wine makers down a production path that is dependent on synthetic chemicals, fertilisers, fungicides and herbicides to produce a high yield.
The use of these annihilates the microbes and bacteria in the soil that vine roots need to feed and to help fight disease.
Systemic chemicals, used to fight diseases and clear weeds, pass directly into the sap of the vine. Fertilisers, which compensate for the missing natural growth, also affect the taste, the colour and the aroma of the wine and create increased chemical residues.
Aromatic yeasts are added to the fermentation process to improve the aroma and flavour, and enzymes to extract colour.
Organic and Biodynamic production uses no synthetic chemicals and producers use only natural preparations in wine production. They encourage biodiversity by planting complementatry and cover crops in the rows between the vines.
Biodynamic producers add preparations made of natural materials to the soil that help to accelerate photosynthesis, the natural process that generates sugars, colours and aromas and also improve ‘mycorhiza’ or the connection of roots to the soil. Founded in the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, biodynamic producers take a holistic view of their estate. For more information on biodynamics and answers to some questions like, who is Rudolf Steiner? how is biodynamic different from organic? and more click here.
You may have been watching the Channel 4 Program "Monty's Vineyard" about wine-lover Monty Waldin pursuing a dream to produce biodynamic red wine. Well, you have to go through a 3 year conversion period before you can be certified as a biodynamic wine producer and all the biodynamic French wines on our website are certified!
Individual growers produce wines that provide originality and taste. Each vineyard has the capacity to produce a truly original wine – the combination of heat, light, weather and the earth found at any one vineyard will produce its own unique variation.
But the real treat is the taste. Natural wines have an authentic taste that brings out the true flavours. By respecting the soil, producers can unlock their “terroir” and produce some brilliant wines that taste superb.
Go on, try some.
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