The Farming - Regenerative Organic Certified™ and Demeter Biodynamic® Winegrowing
Grapevines take their nourishment from the sun and the soil. For the roots to extract nutrition from the soil they require help. Their partners in this process are the bacteria and fungi that live in the soil with them. If the microbiome of your soil is not healthy the vine cannot get what it needs from the soil and can survive only by direct applications of nitrogen. Like a drug addict, the vine is addicted to this mainlining of nitrogen, which prevents the vine from forming a normal healthy root system. Vines farmed in this way have small, shallow root systems. Biodynamic agriculture is all about returning the microbiome to a healthy balance so that a grapevine can return to its natural process of extracting what it needs from the soil. This makes for a healthier, stronger vine and that means more flavorful fruit and wine. The easiest way to describe biodynamics is that it is organic agriculture combined with an intensive discipline of probiotic treatments - the biodynamic preparations. Over the years we know that biodynamics will add new dimensions and depth to our wines.
Making Biodynamic compost with our grape skins and stems after pressing during harvest
Burying cow horns filled with fresh organic manure to ferment over the winter. In spring we dig up the newly created Biodynamic Preparation 500, which is applied to our vineyard soils to help rebuild the microbiome of our vineyard.
The Biodynamic Field Preparations
Biodynamic Field Spray 500 - Horn Manure
Made from fresh, organic cow manure, from our neighbors at Noble Dairy, that is buried inside a cow horn during the winter months. During those months, the manure ferments and transforms into a probiotic that forms the foundation for bringing our soils to life. Vigorously stirred with water, called dynamizing, this compost tea is applied to our soil to build its microbiome, humus, and healthy root systems. Helps to make trace minerals in the soil available to the vines and increases earthworm activity. BP 500 brings life and energy to our soils.
Biodynamic Field Spray Preparation 501 - Cow Horn Silica
Made from finely ground quartz, which is made into a paste that is packed into cow horns. While BP 500 is buried during the winter, BP 501 is buried during the warm, sunny months of summer where it develops a unique bacteriological population. We then store it over the winter in the sunny window of our tasting room. During the growing season it is dynamized with water and applied directly to our vines, not the soil as is BD 500. When applied to our vines, BD 501 promotes photosynthesis, ripening and helps the vines activate their natural defenses against pests and diseases.
Biodynamic Field Spray Preparation 508 - Horsetail
The third field spray preparation is BD 508 Horsetail. It is made by making a tea mixture from the harvested Equisetum arvense (horsetail) and water and is used to control or limit fungal growth, especially powdery and downy mildew. It is both a preventative and curative preparation in low-pressure scenarios. It can be applied directly to the soil, the vine or the area surrounding the vine, again in homeopathic quantities.
Biodynamic Compost Preparations
Biodynamic Compost Preparation 502 - Yarrow
This is a fermented preparation made from Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and is applied to our compost piles. It works to enliven the processes of sulfur, potassium and fluid flow within the compost pile by converting urea into protein, and develops nitrogen fixing bacteria. It helps the soil be more stable and helps plants access important trace minerals.
Biodynamic Compost Preparation 504 - Stinging Nettle
This is a fermented preparation made from Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) and is applied to our compost piles. BD 504 plays a major role in resolving soils with an imbalance of iron, magnesium and sulfur. Excess iron can cause many problems and often presents itself in the form of very tight soil with a hardpan or crust. This tightness locks in the iron and other trace minerals, which in turn makes the problem worse. BD 504 preparation loosens the soil texture allowing the nutrients to release, disperse and be absorbed by plants.
Biodynamic Compost Preparation 506 - Dandelion
This fermented preparation is made from the flowers of Dandelions (Taraxacum dens leonis) which is applied to our compost piles. It has a prominent influence on enabling plant and soil life to access silica. Silica is vital for improving cell structure and strength allowing plant sap to flow smoothly. In viticulture, silica is beneficial in creating a strong resistance to mildews specifically powdery mildew.
Biodynamic Compost Preparation 503 - Chamomile
This is a fermented preparation made from Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and is applied to our compost piles. It helps to reduce ammonia in the soil, breaks down organic matter in order to stabilize nitrogen and increases calcium to create rich stable humus that increases the health of the soil. The plants grow in autumn and winter and are harvested in late spring and early summer.
Biodynamic Compost Preparation 505 - Oak Bark
This preparation is made from Oak Bark (Quercus robur) humus and is applied to our compost piles. It specifically influences calcium and to a degree, phosphorus. Calcium is best applied in the living form and not applied as a mineral. There is approximately 3-5% calcium in oak bark and it is a great source of natural plant-based “living” calcium. It helps combat harmful plant diseases like fungus. Over the years, Oak bark will help to raise the pH of the soil eliminating the need to add lime
Biodynamic Compost Preparation 507 - Valerian
This preparation is an extract made from Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), a perennial herb and is applied to our compost piles. The Valerian plant has a relationship with light and warmth and brings these properties into the natural system. It stimulates micro-life to make phosphorus more available as it supports the phosphorus-activating bacteria in the soil The other BD compost preparations are placed directly into the compost, but BD 507 is applied in two ways, half is poured into a hole made in the compost, and the remainder is sprayed over the surface.