Biodynamic

Biodynamic agriculture is based on a deep understanding and respect for the links between the different ecosystems present in a given environment (farm, garden, winery, etc.). Its aim is to care for the soil, flora and fauna in order to revitalize and preserve them. While certain practices are similar to those used in organic farming, biodynamic viticulture also has some specific, fundamental ones:

• considering the agricultural cultivation area as a single organism,
• using biodynamic preparations, known as "préparats", made from medicinal plants, quartz minerals and dung, to sustain life in the soil and support plant growth,
• protect the soil through crop rotation and the non-mechanization of farming tasks,
• take into account the rhythms of the planets,, particularly those of the Moon and Sun (lunar calendar for pruning, harvesting, tilling, sowing, etc.)

As a result, the products grown are as natural as can be. Biodynamic farming and winemaking thus influence the taste and nutritional quality of the produce.

Winegrowing has not been spared by soil impoverishment and erosion, nor by the alteration of life in the vineyard (pesticides, etc.).This impact on grape quality is then felt in the organoleptic properties of a wine. In this sense, biodynamic agriculture applied to the world of wine contributes to the full expression of a vineyard's terroir , and therefore to that of its grape varieties. This diversity is increasingly appreciated by consumers when tasting wines certified by the Déméter, Biodyvin or Nature & Progrès labels.

In biodynamic viticulture, the plants most often used for spraying preparations are nettle, sage, horsetail and valerian. Three preparations are frequently used to heal and energize the vines: horn silica, horn dung and dung compost. Winegrowers have their own preparations, which they use according to the lunar rhythm. While these practices are sometimes described as esoteric, biodynamic viticulture is above all about using common sense to produce excellent wines.

Biodynamic viticulture is one of the basic trends of organic agriculture, but there are significant differences between an organic wine and a biodynamic or natural wine.

To obtain their certification, the latter two must meet much moredemanding specifications, based on the concept of biodynamics and the application of its cultivation practices. The list of authorized inputs is very short, and even non-existent for natural wines, with the exception of sulfites (or sulfur dioxide, SO2).