Why Your Next Bottle of Wine Should be Biodynamic
By: Crista Miller
Tags: Wine, Sustainability, Alcohol, Agriculture, Biodynamic

I live by the rule that there is always a good reason to have a glass of wine. It could be a holiday, a housewarming, date night, or just a Tuesday — even a bad reason: like five Zoom meetings before 4 pm, your neighbors throwing another late-night party, or your attempt at recreating your favorite dish ending up with you just ordering takeout instead. Wine is cultural, gastronomic, religious, social, comforting, therapeutic. Luckily in modern society, you don’t have to be an expert to make a good choice when it comes to your wine — but as with all aspects of consumerism, there are plenty of options of varieties and regions and even production methods to complicate the decision-making process. To help make the next choice of wine an easy one, consumers should embrace Biodynamic wine; not because of perceived health benefits or quality differences, but to support farmers and agricultural practices that prioritize sustainability, attention to detail, and care for their product and ecological footprint.

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What is Biodynamic Wine?

Okay, okay, I’ve caught your attention. What exactly is biodynamic wine, and how is it different from the regular old two-buck chuck or organic or natural or any of the other buzzwords you see on wine labels today? How are you, the consumer, expected to keep up with all of these distinctions? Well, let me give you a quick rundown.

According to Hugh Courtney, Biodynamics is “merely organic agriculture with a peculiar twist” (Steiner and Courtney). That doesn’t really clear it up for us, but more on that later. So then, what is organic wine? Well, It depends on where your wine comes from, but generally, it is agreed upon that certified organic wine is a wine made of grapes farmed organically without a lot of additives. It is important to note that some additives are necessary for wine growth and production to ensure stabilization. Those additives are highly regulated by the respective bodies in each wine-producing country or even region. I know — it’s confusing, but basically, wine is just produce, so if you trust organic apples, you can trust organic wine. That leaves natural wine, which is the least regulated of the terms above — natural wine is also organic (generally), but it differs in that it always uses wild ambient yeast that exists in the air and on the fruit itself (as opposed to added yeasts) to ferment and that it often doesn’t have any filtration — to put it very simply, with natural wine nothing is added, and nothing is removed (Legeron).

Peculiar Twists

Now that we know what the buzzwords in wine production mean let’s talk more about Biodynamic wine specifically. As I mentioned above, Biodynamics has a “peculiar twist” — but what exactly does that mean? Well, in 1924, an Austrian scientist, philosopher, and artist named Rudolf Steiner publicly presented a series of presentations on agriculture consisting of eight lectures and four discussion series later published and called Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture (Waldin). This lecture series became the starting point of Biodynamics. According to Waldin, “Steiner developed nine Biodynamic preparations to moderate and regulate biological processes in nature. This is the ‘bio’ part of Biodynamics. The ‘dynamic’ part comes by understanding the preparations.” These nine preparations are numerically identified as Preparations 500–508 and consist of different natural ‘teas’ created to aid the agricultural process to eliminate the need for traditional fertilizers, insecticides, and fungicides. These ‘teas’ have a variety of complex use cases, but the most well-known one is the act of putting manure in a hollow cow horn (or dozens!) and burying it in your farm for at least six months. This preparation is known as ‘Horn manure’ or ‘Preparation 500’ and is later dug up and stirred in a vortex mixture by hand to create fertilizer (Jim Fullmer Demeter U.S.A.). While this is graphically the most interesting preparation, most preparations are just combinations of naturally found items (like chamomile) or compounds (like sulfur).

These preparations are the first important distinction between organic winegrowing and Biodynamic winegrowing — Biodynamic farmers prepare all of the ‘preparations’ themselves, in their farms, using (ideally) their own plants and animals (Exalto Biodyvin). It is important to note that while this piece is a discussion is about winegrowing, farmers grow Biodynamically for all sorts of crops and use the same methods as described above. The amount of time and care that it must take to produce nine different ‘preparations’ to ensure your crops grow well and organically is honestly astounding. Can you imagine loving what you do so much that you are willing to go leaps and bounds beyond the bare minimum to ensure that the quality of the product you produce is as good as you can possibly get it?

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The Biodynamic Calendar

The differences between Biodynamic and organic winemaking don’t end there, and this is the point where the distinction gets a little kooky. Monty Waldin noted that “From the very beginning of his 1924 Agriculture course Rudolf Steiner stressed the important influence celestial rhythms have on humans, plants, and animals.” (Waldin). Celestial rhythms? Yikes. While I can tell you that I’m a Leo, I don’t take much stock into astrology or where the stars and planets are personally, so this reasoning in Biodynamics is a little harder for me to justify. Still, at this point in history, we introduce the second big player in the Biodynamic movement, Maria Thun. Maria Thun started researching the impact of celestial rhythms on farming in 1952, and by 1957 was convinced that the four elements of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air (and their respective astrological representations) played a critical factor in influencing different parts of plant growth. It was this research that led to the creation of The Biodynamic Calendar. The Calendar breaks down each day into a category: Flower Day, Fruit Day, Leaf Day, and Root Day (BogMar Biodynamic calendar). This Calendar dictates what actions can be performed to crops on each specific day. On Flower Days, the moon is in any of the Air Signs (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius). On Root Days, the moon is in Earth Signs (Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo). On Leaf Days, water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces). And finally, on Fruit Days, Fire Signs (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius).

Okay, this is nuts, right? Well, actually, the Old Farmer’s Almanac uses this very same lunar calendar to recommend the best planting schedules for crops (Larson Getting Into Biodynamic Wine). Now, I don’t know about your family, but my grandfather grew up in the rural south working the fields and religiously followed the Old Farmer’s Almanac with all of his gardenings his entire life, and this may just be a correlation, but I’ve never had a better tomato than one picked straight from my grandfather’s farm. In fact, according to publishing records, approximately 3 million farmers use the Old Farmer’s Almanac every year.

Now you know that Biodynamic Wine is a wine made organically, using special preparation teas prepared by the grower who faithfully follows a celestial calendar to ensure plant health and ensures the best possible quality and soil health that they can. I’m not going to lie — even when I say it simply like that, it sounds a little strange. Okay, okay, a lot strange. So now that we know the what and how the next question is why? Why would farmers spend time creating these preparations and following these rituals when they could just grow organically (or even, shudder, conventionally)?

The choice of how to grow crops best is wholly personal. Still, esteemed Winemaker Randall Grahm says that “The Biodynamic proposition is really as much about transforming the farmer as it is the farm. A Biodynamic grower is linked to his farm in a much more intimate way.” (Grahm Viticulture). In other wine-growing methods, especially in bulk production facilities, a lot of the hands-on work a farmer does is bypassed. Diseased grapes can be left on the vine, fungus can go unchecked, and these grapes are nearly impossible to remove after machine harvesting is done (Robinson). When a farmer practices Biodynamics, they spend so much time directly with the crops they are creating that they have the ability to find and prevent problems before they become more significant issues.

So It’s Healthy, Right?

When you look at it like that, in the scope that Biodynamic wine is made with a lot more attention and care than traditional or maybe even organic wine, you might make the assumption that Biodynamic wine is healthier. Well, unfortunately, it isn’t that simple. First, the way we measure the healthiness of an alcoholic beverage is, at best, optimistic. According to the Mayo Clinic, while Red Wine does contain the antioxidant Resveratrol which has been shown to reduce cholesterol, lower inflammation, and reduce blood clots, alcohol in general also increased your risk of liver and pancreas disease, heart failure, cancer, and more (Mayo Clinic The truth about red wine and heart health). Since the healthiness of any alcoholic beverage can’t be reliably rated, there surely must be other benefits to growing wine Biodynamically, right? More fruit on the vines? Fewer diseases in the plants and grapes? Surely at least better taste? In my own meta-analysis review of Biodynamic Viticulture Research, I concluded that Biodynamic or even Organic wine growing shows no significant difference in yield or production, nor was there any significant change in perception between Biodynamic and traditional wines tasted by experts. In fact, in many cases, Biodynamic and Organic wines had higher instances of disease like botrytis. That being said, there was one unambiguous indication in the three studies I reviewed: in the instance of Biodynamic farming, the nutrient counts in the soil was much higher than in Organic and Conventional wine-growing management techniques (Miller A Meta-Analysis of Biodynamic Viticulture and It’s Benefits). While contrary to many wine experts opinions that wine does best in soil with low nutrients so that it struggles to produce the best possible fruit (Bell Why Does Bad Soil Make For Great Wine?), the influence of soil nutrients on winegrowing is very complex and there is no clear answer on the best approach (Robinson). Basically, no, Biodynamic wine isn’t healthier for you, nor does it create a healthier plant — but it does, unequivocally, create better soil health in the farm, which is good for the earth and environment.

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Biodynamics is Better For The Planet

I get it — based on the rituals, the ‘preparations’, the lack of proof that Biodynamics even results in healthier or bigger yields make it seem like this approach to winegrowing and making is more fiction than science. However, I stand by my assertion that consumers should embrace purchasing Biodynamic wines when the option arises. In fact, I encourage you to actively seek out Biodynamic Wine the next time you’re looking for something to drink. But if it isn’t because of science or health or quality, why should you care whether your wine is Biodynamic or not? How do you separate the science from the fiction? Well, you don’t have to.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how a bottle of wine is made if it is made with love and care and regard for the earth and the consumer. Biodynamics does that in spades. The farmer’s who practice Biodynamic wine growing care so much about the crops, the planet, and the consumer that they are willing to completely overhaul more common, cheaper methods of farming and production to give back to the earth. Look, there’s no denying that climate change is real and drastic changes need to be made to protect our planet from further destruction. All consumers should be seeking out sustainable, organic, conflict-free products at all times if possible. For wine, Biodynamics has been spending the last 100 years doing just that: listening to the earth and doing what is best and most sustainable for the farm, the farmer, and the planet.

Buy Biodynamic

So, the next time when you’re Zoom-fatigued or celebrating getting through another week and the store has the option to buy an $18 Red Blend from Lodi, California or a $22 Zinfandel made Biodynamically from Mendocino, California, and you’re torn — buy Biodynamic. Not for your health or the unknown quality differences of the wine, but for the planet and the farmers who put so much time and care into making that bottle of wine for you to enjoy. I promise you’ll enjoy it just as much as a traditional bottle of wine and you’ll be taking steps to make a positive impact on not only the earth but the livelihood of farmers who put our planet and your needs as a consumer ahead of profits and ease.