Baby Bios take bigger steps

Biodynamics is growing among the world's winemakers as the greenest of all the different environmental ways to make wine. Some of the methods used, such as the?placing of cow dung in animal horns and of pruning when the moon is positioned in the right place have repelled some. But it has excited others, being chemical-free, with much composting and dependent on smaller scale production. In other words, it matches the mood of the day. Yet beyond a few major suppliers, particularly Corney & Barrow, the uptake of biodynamic wine has been slow in the UK?and consumers remain largely unfamiliar with this method of farming.

But why? Below the world's top producers try to work out some solutions, and explain ways that their message could be better put across.

Bize-Leroy's wines are some of the most expensive in the world, and have been instrumental in attaining recognition for biodynamics viticulture.

UK importer: Justerini & Brooks and Falcon Vintners. We also sell direct to some private clients.

What is holding biodynamic wines back in the UK?

The issue in the UK is one of price - our wines are generally expensive - as opposed to how we grow our wines. The UK is a very price-sensitive market.

How do your vines respond to biodynamics?

With biodynamic processes it takes a lot of time to work out what the end result will be. Vines don't repond immediately. Of course this differs from parcel to parcel but we cannot explain biodynamics easily.

Have you noticed any difference with your vines due to recent climatic changes?

No, because our vines are old with roots that go deep. In fact we prefer hot weather over more rainy conditions.

Yeasts are a big issue in biodynamics. Do you add cultured ones or rely on those naturally created?

We never use added yeasts as each one can change the way a wine tastes. Yeasts aren't something separate. They're a part of terroir rather than winemaking. Biodynamic practice gives more strength to the yeasts since we don't kill them at any point in the process.

Native Australian and former London-resident Castagna and his wife Carolanne are relative newcomers to winegrowing, but in just a few years have risen to the top in Australia for their evocative, complex Syrahs and Viogniers.

UK importer: Charlie Herring, for the last four years in fact.

Is biodynamics still seen as totally wacko?

No, at last people are waking up to the fact that things we place into our mouth can be beneficial or detrimental to our health. It's important that growers and the public are aware of this aspect of consumption. Aside from the "Save the World" messages, if we avoid using the rubbish we've been adding to food and drink products for years, then it tastes so much better.

Does the UK give enough focus on your wines being biodynamic?

They don't because I don't place my biodynamic status on the bottle, and I?don't promote the wines as biodynamic either. I see biodynamic practice as something that I do to make better wines and to make the world a better place. Vineyards were biodynamic at some point before all the chemicals were added.

What are the differing costs between biodynamic and other growing methods?

When our vines were hit by the African black beetle, which ate away at the roots of my new plants, I dutifully went out and bought the most horrible thing imaginable to treat them. The skull and crossbones on the container scared me off and I searched for, and found, biodynamics as a result. I think the UK trade is just starting to understand it.

Which biodynamic grower do you most admire?

Nicolas Joly when he gets it right - which isn't often enough. His wines can have such depth and linearity. Domaine Leflaive also maintains great fruit purity with complexity.

France's first Master of Wine has, along with his father Leonard, put Alsace on every wine lover's map with their rich Riesling renderings and top-notch Pinot Gris. His practical approach to biodynamics has made its methods more palatable to more conservative members of the wine trade.

UK importers: Berry Bros &?Rudd, the Wine Society and Inverarity Vaults in Scotland.

Have you experienced growth or a fall in sales in the UK?

Well in 10 years we've doubled our turnover as a winery, with more coming from us to the UK than in France. I would never have thought to put the word "biodynamic" on my back label then as I do now. For sure, things have changed dramatically. Now we put it there because people ask us about our winemaking and growing processes.

Is biodynamic growing much more expensive, though?

Costs for growing grapes increase by up to 30-40% when you adopt biodynamic methods. There's more canopy management involved, and far less dependence upon any machines for harvesting and pruning. So we end up with around 15 times the labour costs of the Alsace norm. Then our average yields are 35hl/ha, far less than the Alsace average. So you can see why the overall cost per bottle ends up being high. You can use machines and grow organically or biodynamically, but few top biodynamic growers will opt for that approach, even under extreme conditions, because it takes one away from the vines. Sometimes you have to compromise but not in these ways. And when you do you do so with a pain in your heart.

The Amoreau family, with help from Portuguese winemaker Ferreira Ivo, own an up-and-coming winery in one of Bordeaux's unsung ACs. Punching well above their weight, expect to hear more about these wines.

UK importer: Nicolas since 1997 but I'm now relaunching with Triple A.

How has the UK changed in that time?

It's a unique market that cares about quality but perhaps not so much about organics.

A great thinker, and proselytizer for biodynamism, Nicolas Joly has recently been relinquishing his primary duties at the winery to his daughter Virginie. By stepping back, he is now able to concentrate on writing a new book entitled "What is Biodynamic Wine?" (Clairview Books).

UK importer:?Previously Yapp and Corney & Barrow, but, says Joly, "I'm looking for someone who's got a similar passion for wine".

How are biodynamic wines perceived in the UK?

It's difficult to say. In countries we export to such as Japan, Brazil, Scandinavia or Luxembourg it's clear that people definitely want biodynamic wines, and sales are increasing fast. But in the UK the topic seems to be quashed. You seem some articles which focus upon the people who make biodynamic wines, but why it is we've chosen to take this route isn't so readily explained. It tends to be personality- rather than method-based.

Do you find biodynamic growing costs much more?

With biodynamics there are zero costs for chemicals in the vineyards, and no expense allocated to the cellar for additional additives either. So if you keep to what the vine can yield naturally - and that's a key point - biodynamics isn't more expensive. However, if you're forced by advertising or marketing costs to use high yields to make more wine, then biodynamics is more expensive because you're going beyond what is easily, and natually achieved in the vineyard.

How does your new book differ from your effort of a few years ago?

"What is Biodynamic Wine?" is intended for the consumer, whereas the first book was designed for those concerned with the practice of biodynamics. The new book shows simply what's behind the wine and how biodynamics is spreading around the world. Biodynamics isn't about fashion, but rather it's very much the sun as caught by the leaves, roots capturing the soil, and of a living mass of vines. Clonal selection is irrelevant because biodynamics can't be copied. In AOC wines many artificial tastes are allowed, which is truly shocking.

UK importer: Lea & Sandeman since 1999, but "I'm now looking for another through David Harvey's Triple A office", says Kristancic.

How does the UK perceive biodynamic wine?

When we started the answer was:?not very well, but I believe that things are improving. People are now predisposed to understand biodynamism, even my Slovenian kind!

What strengths do your wines possess?

If people are looking to consume more natural foods they'll also want to search out what they can with some validity see as natural wines. As long as the taste of the wines are good, biodynamics are an added plus. If the wines taste bad then there's no purpose to using biodynamic methods.

Does it cost more to grow biodynamically?

If you look at the amount of money spent on chemicals then biodynamics is the cheapest way. However, biodynamics requires a trebling of labour costs for us, about 2,000 hours per hectare of manual work. Conventional vineyards require 600 hours and organic 1,200 hours by comparison. If we compare total costs then biodynamics doubles the end price.

Which biodynamic producer do you admire most?

Nicolas Joly is the big philosopher and the leader. When nobody knew my family's estate he persuaded me to stick to the biodynamic path. These days I'm connected to Palacios and Rodriguez, as well as to Peter Sisseck at Dominio de Pingus, all in Spain

Puligny's leading winegrower has been at the forefront of the campaign to ban the spread of genetically-modified (GMO) vines in the EU. If this and tending to her domaine isn't enough, she also has plans for a school dedicated to biodynamic viticulture.

UK importer: Corney & Barrow and John Armit - my family has been exporting to the UK since the 1940s.

How are biodynamic wines perceived in the UK?

I don't really know. The UK consumer has a lot of expertise, and they are my best customers along with the Japanese. They seem to like ageing wines in their cellars, and appreciate finesse and minerality.

Does it cost a great deal to grow biodynamically?

It's not really to do with cost. The work you do for the environment has value beyond that. Agriculturalists have to be very careful with what we do. Chemicals have a bad effect upon the soils and waters in which we live so the cost differential is an excuse for the winemaker not to grow ecologically while global warming carries on affecting people's vines dramatically. We have had problems with excess heat over the past few years, but our vines have a good foundation so with deeper roots we're better off than some others in a similar position. In 2003 vines with deep vertical roots had a definite advantage amid all those high temperatures.

The young Mingeaud, along with his partners, is making organic and biodynamic wines at several Rhne wineries in various appellations.

UK importers: Winegrowers Direct near Cambridge, Dynamic Wines in London, and Rare Wines in Scotland.

How are biodynamic wines perceived in the UK?

The first hints of interest in the trade there have only started to emerge. How did you come to embrace biodynamic principles?

When I came to work with Villeneuve, which is biodynamic, I became engrossed in the subject. I don't think that good wine must be biodynamic but growers of biodynamically-affected vines are bound to make good wine in most instances. After all, these people are looking out for the safety of the environment and customers. Some guys opt for organic wines and organic culture but aren't good winemakers. Biodynamic wines tend to show more minerality, depth, and harmony.

Do you add yeasts to your wines?

If you have a vineyard that's well-looked-after the ingredients necessary for fermentation are already there. Only in the case of strong rains before harvest washing away these yeasts might selected yeasts be the solution.

What's your view of genetically-modified vines?

They're no good for viticulture and likewise most agricultural activity. Just think how dangerous it will be when modified plants cross over into non-modified ones. Studying is fine but let's keep it confined to the laboratories.

Which biodynamic producer to you most admire?

It's difficult to say because there are so many. Champagne's David Leclapart makes tremendous wines, finishing them with a yeast from the primary fermentation.

The Palacios family holdings have spread beyond their native Rioja borders to Priorat and beyond, ensuring the production of some of modern Spain's most icon reds.

UK importers: Since first exporting to the UK in 1999 Palacios have been with Corney & Barrow, focused upon private clients.

What growth have you seen for biodynamic wine?

Some, but not much, and mostly based upon for quality for our wines from Bierzo. Our more classic wines have their traditional market and sell on reputation alone.

How has global warming affected your vineyards?

Bierzo is one of the rainiest and coldest parts of Spain, so the fact that it's generally warmer isn't wholly a bad thing. Global warming is having an impact but we don't know what it means for the long term.

What's your opinion of GMO vines?

They're just crazy.

Saahs is a committed practicioner of biodynamics, not only for her wines but in terms of the way she lives her life. In addition to making some of the most long-lived white wines in Austria, annually releasing a wine which has rested untouched in barrel for 15 years, she has a restaurant in the Wachau.

UK importer: Richard Walford, "although we began shipping our own wines over 20 years ago", says Sachs.

What is the perception of biodynamic wines in the UK?

It's growing and this makes me happy when I?think about the potential for biodynamics. More people are learning about wines that come almost straight from nature such as those made biodynamically. Natural wines show a truer expression of the vine.

How do vines respond to biodynamic treatment?

Biodynamic vines reach more to the sky - compare this to some conventional vineyards where the leaves are turning to the ground. Put plainly, they just look unhappy. Some growers use biodynamic principles as a fashion or merely as what they do in the vineyards, but biodynamics is much more than that.

Has climate change affected your vineyards?

At Nikolaihof we've seen dramatic changes with temperature but we the quality of our wines hasn't been affected at least. South-facing Steiner Hund is so hot we cannot work in it summer afternoons, yet the resultant wines haven't changed their level of acidity and potential alcohol thankfully. That's because self-protection devices in vines are in order thanks to the methods we use.