Benziger is a leading proponent of biodynamic farming, a growing movement among American vintners. Like organic farmers, biodynamic vintners shun the use of toxic chemicals, but they take it a step beyond by adopting unconventional practices like pruning and harvesting according to the gravitational pulls of lunar cycles and integrating livestock into vineyard management. The point is simple: create a healthy self-sustaining ecosystem. “Farming is a violent practice,” says Benziger. “You rip up the earth, you cut back plants with a knife. The entire practice of biodynamics heals the earth and the plants.”
When shopping for wine, it’s easy to spot those certified organic or biodynamic, since producers rarely miss that distinctive marketing tool. But because obtaining official certification can be a complicated and costly process, many small wineries that practice sustainable, organic farming go uncertified. So how do you know which ones to select if the label doesn’t give a hint? “Do some research before you go wine shopping,” says Anthony Dias Blue, editor of Patterson’s Beverage Journal, a trade publication. “Go online and look for boutique wines that are sustainably farmed, organic or certified biodynamic [see organicwinecompany.com]. A 5,000-acre winery isn’t likely to be organic.”
Biodynamic wines start at about $20 a bottle and can go into the hundreds of dollars. Many tasters can’t tell whether a wine’s been produced organically or not, so why should you pay more for organic and biodynamically grown wines? Perhaps for the same reason you’d buy organic produce. They probably are better for you. And vintners who reject pesticides typically adopt other ecologically responsible business practices.
Doug Shafer stopped using pesticides on his family’s vines 18 years ago after he noticed a skull and crossbones on the label of his herbicide. “I said, ‘Whoa.’ I have three young kids who play in these vineyards. What am I doing to them?” Shafer now uses a natural echinacea ground cover and organic soap on his vines to knock back bug infestations, and his winery (Shafervineyards.com) is 100 percent solar powered. He composts all the grape skins and stems, and recycles about 5,000 gallons of water each day during harvest season. “You can’t quantify flavor scientifically but I know from the reactions I get from our customers that our wine is better, and I am a better and kinder farmer because of these changes,” says Shafer. We can all raise a glass to that.
