Will Deer Bladders Produce Better Wine?

With vineyards, I am similarly skeptical of a one-size-fits-all approach to farming. However, in increasing numbers, vineyards are adopting an approach to viticulture that may seem as bizarre as relying on the stars: Biodynamics. Practitioners of biodynamics believe that a vineyard is a single, unified, living organism, and the interrelationship between the soil, plants and animals must be balanced holistically in order to harness "cosmic forces."

A central tenet of biodynamicism includes the use of specially prepared herbal, organic and mineral preparations as compost and vineyard additives, as well as utilizing an astronomical calendar to determine planting and harvesting schedules.

Biodynamic agriculture was created in the 1920s by Rudolph Steiner, who is also credited as the founder of Waldorf Education, anthroposophical medicine, and the art form Eurythmy. Along with these other disciplines, Steiner came up with some forward-thinking agricultural ideas. One of his field preparations, meant to invigorate the "life force" of a vineyard, involves filling a cow horn with cow manure and burying it in the vineyard during autumn.

The contents of the horn are then unearthed the following spring, diluted and whirled about the vineyard every second minute. Don’t have a dead cow handy? Not a problem; they are easily obtained on the Internet. JPI Biodynamics offers two varieties; both empty and pre-filled. For the lazy biodynamicist in all of us, one could also simply order the finished preparation ready for dilution, but why skip half the fun?

The specifications for the additives to the compost to be used as fertilizer in the vineyard are similarly creative. Preparation No. 502 requires the bladder of a red deer to be stuffed with yarrow blossoms, dried in the sun during summer, buried into the earth during winter and retrieved in the spring. No. 505 requires the bark from an oak tree to be chopped into small pieces, placed inside the skull of a domesticated animal, surrounded by peat and buried near a creek or stream.
Biodynamic pest control methods are also intriguing. Field mice infestation? Catch a few, render the skin to ashes, and spread the ashes in the vineyard—but only when Venus is in the constellation of Scorpio.

As wacky as some of these approaches may seem, an increasing number of wineries are adopting a biodynamic approach towards their vineyard practices. One estimate has approximately 380 producers worldwide. The practice has numerous vocal adherents, including prominent European vintners Nicolas Joly, Michel Chapoutier and Peter Sisseck of Pingus. California has its share of biodynamic wineries, including Araujo Estate, Bonny Doon, Quintessa and Beckmen’s Purisima Mountain Vineyards. The quality of wine from many of these biodynamic producers is beyond compare; Araujo’s cabernet sauvignon from the Eisele Vineyard has received 95-plus point scores from Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate for the last six vintages, while Chapoutier and Pingus have 14 perfect 100-point wines between them.

Repeated studies have demonstrated that biodynamic farms have soil with higher biological and physical quality as opposed to traditional farming. They have significantly more organic matter, microbial activity, earthworms and thicker topsoil. Critics of biodynamic agriculture are quick to point out, however, that these benefits can also be obtained through an organic approach to agriculture and that most of the central tenets of biodynamicism—not including the moon and stars—are similar to those of organic farming.

A study published in 2005 compared the results of biodynamic and organic treatments on a commercial merlot vineyard near Ukiah, Calif. While differences were not found in the soil quality during the first six years, it was observed that the organically farmed vines set a larger crop of grape clusters, and that the biodynamic vines had a smaller crop, higher sugars, and more total phenols and anthocyanins. As smaller grape crops can contribute to concentration and intensity in wine, and a wine’s total phenols and anthocyanins can affect its complexity, the study suggests that biodynamism’s contributions to a vineyard may be more than just hocus-pocus.

I remain a bit skeptical. On one hand, it is difficult to deny the results of this approach while sipping a glass of Michel Chapoutier’s magnificent Cuvee de l’Oree. On the other hand, my left brain has trouble accepting that cow horns or deer bladders had anything to do with the quality of the wine that is in my glass. I think I will consult the stars to see if that settles the argument.