What Is Biodynamic Wine? Biodynamic Wine vs. Organic Wine

Biodynamic wine is a type of wine that is made in accordance with holistic farming and food-making practices. Many of these practices align with those of organic agriculture, including the restriction of synthetic fertilizers and pest control practices. As with organic wine, the goal is twofold: to produce both a superior finished product and to practice good stewardship of the land, encouraging biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem.

Biodynamic farming is a horticulture technique developed by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and esotericist of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It arose when farming in the early twentieth century became increasingly reliant on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides, and it set the stage for modern organic agriculture. Farmers at the time noticed a decline in soil health, as well as in the taste and quality of the crops they were producing, and they sought a remedy. Steiner devised a complex methodology involving:

• Organic fertilizer: Biodynamic agriculture emphasizes the use of locally-produced fertilizer made from compost and manure.
• Integrated pest management: Biodynamic farmers cannot use synthetic pesticides. They must use pest-repellent plants and additives (like neem oil) to battle invasive insects.
• Field and compost preparations: Steiner prescribed a list of practices to prepare for crops, including fermenting manure in a cow's horn for use as a fertilizer, composting stinging nettle with peat moss, and composting chamomile flowers in cattle intestines.
• Mystical practices: Biodynamic farming has traditionally involved a degree of mysticism. Practices include planting and harvesting according to the astrological calendar and phases of the moon.

Biodynamic practices can produce any variety of wine, from a Rosé to a Pinot Noir to a Burgundy. What distinguishes wine made by biodynamic producers is the high levels of care and precision taken in every part of the wine making process, from the growing of the grapes to the fermentation and bottling.

Although biodynamic winemaking shares practices with organic winemaking, the biodynamic process typically carries more prestige in the wine community. Aficionados believe that the high level of craft in the winemaking process, as well as the biodiversity and richness of the soil from which the grapes are grown, produces wines with depth, subtlety, and a highly distinctive terroir (the extent to which wines reflect the regions where they are grown).

No state-sanctioned body governs the production of biodynamic wine. This stands in contrast to the organic label; in the United States, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) certifies food and beverages as organic. The designation “biodynamic” is set by the Demeter organization, an international body dedicated to regulating and promoting biodynamic practices all across the globe. Biodynamic winemaking occurs in France, Italy, California, Oregon, among other regions.

Biodynamic wine, organic wine, and natural wine are two different categories of wine, although they do overlap considerably.

• Natural wine: Also known as raw or low-intervention wine, natural wine comprises a broad category of wines that have minimal intervention in the winemaking process. Grapes for natural wines are grown according to organic or even biodynamic requirements, with no artificial pesticides or herbicides. Natural wines rely on naturally-occurring yeast for fermentation, and winemakers use little to no additives or preservatives, such as sulfites, to the fermenting grape juice before bottling and aging. Additionally, winemakers do not filter or fine natural wines, unlike conventional wines.
• Organic wine: This type of wine is subject to the official USDA-certified organic farming regulation, which determines various elements of the growing, fermentation, bottling, and storage processes. The grapes must be grown organically, using native yeasts, with no GMOs and no sulfites other than those that occur naturally.
• Biodynamic wine: Many biodynamic farming practices are compatible with those of organic agriculture, including a restriction of synthetic fertilizers and pest control practices. But biodynamic grape growing goes even further, emphasizing biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. Biodynamic farmers use a very specific set of specially-prepared fertilizers, and their farming practices are aligned with the astrological calendar.

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