Green living does in fact relate to wine - that’s right biodynamics
Posted by Andrea Johnston on November 8th, 2007Good friends of mine recently founded an exciting company - Low Impact Living (LIL). They want to help you lower the environmental impact of your home and your daily life. To do that, they help you find the best green products, practices and service providers to help you achieve your environmental goals. And they will also help you understand the environmental benefits and economic trade-offs of your choices. Their primary goal is to make the path from inspiration to implementation as short and as smooth as possible. Only by taking action will we collectively reduce the damage to our planet and ecosystems.
With that said, they are constantly searching for great green products and services to bring to their customers. With the holiday season upon us, I asked if they would be interested in featuring some “green” wineries in their holiday guide. Indeed they would! What a natural fit - wineries practicing biodynamic agriculture. For those of you not in the know, and I did need to look up the details on wikipedia, this is a method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and individual organisms emphasizing balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants, animals as a closed, self-nourishing system. Biodynamic farming includes organic agriculture’s emphasis on manures and composts and exclusion of the use of artificial chemicals on soils and plants.
I am pleased to say that several of our clients are exploring or are engaging in biodynamic programs: Medlock Ames, Chumeia, McFadden, Gryphon, Amity, Barra, Matthiasson, and Girasole to name a few. If you are a “green winery” by all means let us know and we will connect you with our friends at Low Impact Living. Please email Rachel.Reed@inertiabev.com to learn about how to work with LIL. And, of course, if you are striving to be green, please check out their informative and exciting website and blog @ www.lowimpactliving.com/blog. Eventually, I’d love to see an entire section dedicated to organic wines and foods. We will keep you posted on progress there.
Cheers,
November 9th, 2007 at 12:19 am
Hi, Andrea - thanks for the interesting post. I’m getting more and more into organic wines. Did a couple posts of my own you might find useful information in:
http://winenewsreview.com/2007/10/23/organic-carmenere-bargain/
http://winenewsreview.com/2007/10/15/organic-wines/
Best regards
Sam
November 15th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Credibility of Inertia Beverages. I have now checked all of the wineries’ websites and have telephone those that answer and still have not found anyone producing biodynamic wines.
One of the wineries told me they “dabbled in biodynamics”. Giving Ms. Johnston the benefit of the doubt (and assuming that she is honest, but not well informed), I cannot imagine why you would risk the credibility of Inertia Beverages and your blog by allowing this kind of misinformation about your clients to be disseminated on your blog. To say nothing of the disservice you do to those wineries who are working hard to truly produce their grapes and wines using biodynamic methods.
November 15th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Lynna,
I think you miss the point - Andrea IS honest and never claimed these wineries were certified biodynamic. She did say that they are attempting or working on biodynamic programs (whether it is the wine, how they manage their vineyards, how they deal with their grapes, etc) and that we should reward wineries that make that move. Even if they “dabble” we should reward those types of wineries with our dollars to show support for their efforts. That is the ultimate point.
Paul Mabray - CEO
November 16th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Thank you for your response, Paul. I wholeheartedly agree with you that all efforts of wineries to move in a “green” direction should be rewarded with our dollars. However, they should be characterized as “green” or “sustainable”. Both are appropriate terms to use for wineries “moving in the direction of”. The terms “organic” and “biodynamic”, however, have very specific meanings, one of which is protected by law.
As you know, the USDA clearly outlines what can be characterized as “organic”, and demands that any winery that wishes to call itself or its wines “organic”, must be certified by a “third party certifying agency such as CCOF. I know that Charlie Barra’s wines are from certified organic vineyards. And his website clearly states as much.
However, Andrea has characterized these wineries as “wineries practising biodynamic agriculture” and goes on to say “I am pleased to say that many of our clients fall into this biodynamic category”.
She would be perfectly correct in characterizing these wineries as “green” or “sustainable”, or in Charlie’s case as “organic”!
However, to characterize any or all of them as “biodynamic” is misleading and incorrect.
Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I would invite her to explore just a little bit further what the term “biodynamic” means. It is a complex and very demanding system of agriculture and it is done under the close supervision of the international biodynamic certifying agency, the Demeter Association.
It is also a term whose marketing value has risen greatly in recent years, and as such, many wineries have attempted to capitalize on its reputation without “doing the work” of understanding the very complex philosophy behind biodynamic farming principles, and then the also-very complex work of implementing biodynamic farming techniques. The VP of viticulture of one large Napa Valley based winery that is NOT biodynamic had told me that he had attending weekly meetings for a year just studying these techniques and philosopy in order to carfully consider whether or not any of his company’s operations could be effectively converted.
Indeed, your client’s efforts to explore and experiment with biodynamic techniques is to be commended, but they cannot by anyone’s measuring stick be characterized as “falling into this biodynamic category”. Either you are, or you aren’t “biodynamic”. Either the whole farm is certified biodynamic, or none of it is. (This is not my standard, but the standard of Demeter.)
In the interests of protecting the public and offering them accurate information, you cannot characterize wineries that are not certified biodynamic as “falling into the biodynamic category” because they do NOT. Is this a picky distinction? Not to me as a consumer. I, personally, no longer buy wines that have had chemical fertilizers or pesticides applied to them, and I either rely upon the certifications of legitimate certifying agencies such as CCOF or the Demeter Association to point me in the right direction.
Do your clients the honor of supporting and highlighting their aspirations if you will, but be clear about just what they are. Give them the dignity of characterizing them for what they ARE, and not for what they are not.
November 16th, 2007 at 8:53 am
P.S. For the benefit of Andrea and all who would like to know more about biodynamic farming and certification, here is the URL of the Demeter Association. There is also a wine industry group of biodynamic producers forming. Katrina Fetzer, marketing director of Ceago Vinegarden in Lake
County, can supply further information regarding the industry group.
http://www.demeter-usa.org/
November 16th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Lynna-
Andrea here. Thanks for educating me and our entire readership on biodynamics. I have altered a few words in my post to more accurately reflect attempts and exploration versus production of certified biodynamic wines. It seems that I should have invited you to be a guest blogger instead of personally attempting to applaud the movement in general and a handful of efforts in particular.
November 16th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
This is so fascinating that I had to chime in! One of the interesting facets of the ‘green’ vineyard and winery movement is that there is a great deal of confusion as to the terminology, meaning and value of the various classifications (both legal and informal) being used. I think everyone agrees that it takes a little more than a solar panel or a bird box to make a business green (does anyone ever talk about social sustainability like paying a living wage for employees?) but they should also agree that it is more important to embrace all businesses that want to promote more progressive practices be it sustainable, organic or biodynamic instead of arguing over terminology. (Today is a ROOT day I believe, can’t you tell?) I meet winebuyers all the time who fail to grasp the true legal meaning of these terms but I know I won’t win any more friends for ‘green’ farming by correcting them ad nauseum! Subvert from within seems the best way to go. For me, I think it is great when people open their eyes a little to ‘greener’ ideas be it ‘dabbling’ or otherwise (yes, you called us - we thought it was kind of odd - call back!). There are even some voices in the biodynamic wine world who say that you take away from biodynamics by shouting about it or marketing it: ‘just do it’ seems to be their sentiments.
One last thing I wanted to add is that the confusion can also come from the biodynamic side. I heard of one biodynamic farmer who nearly lost their organic status because they used a non-organic BUT biodynamic preparation. As an organic farmer who has spent a lot of time and money gaining and protecting that certification this is a little worrying. Biodynamic and organic are certainly not interchangeable but let’s not view them as successive tiers of farming (one being better for the earth than another) or we’ll add more to the confusion! Let’s just try to encourage people to farm without costing the earth . . . . and sell a little wine to stay in business at the same time! (now THAT’S sustainable!!!)
November 16th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Just a note, Andrea. Confusion over issues of “biodynamic” and “organic” terminology are rampant among both consumers and interested industry members. (I would like to make sure that none of my comments are taken as slams against the wineries in question….owned and operated by hard working people with good intentions….and may I say, some very beautiful properties AND some very good wines! I believe their efforts to produce wines that are healthier for the community and the environment should be commended and supported. Their explorations into the realm of more chemical free living should indeed be supported by our dollars and our respect.)
Biodynamic farming is, as I have mentioned, a very complex system of not only farming techniques, but of underlying philosophies.
I believe you would better serve your clients and your readers by simply stating that these particular wineries are engaged in “exploring more environmentally friendly methods of farming”, rather than hanging the name “biodynamic” on their efforts. Call them “green”. Call them “eco-friendly”. Or call some of them “organic”, because they are indeed all of that! That in itself is highly commendable.
I still believe that throwing “biodynamic” into the discussion of wineries that are not biodynamic is misleading. It just adds to consumer confusion over precisely what “biodynamic” means and suggests something which is not really accurate. (And I still contend that the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, or the Demeter Association would agree with my position, though I have not asked them for an offical comment.)
Each of us, whether consumer or industry professional, should at least try to understand the basic terminology. What the heck does “biodynamic” mean? Is it necessary for my health? What precisely does “organic” mean and how do I know that just because someone chooses to call his or her product “organic” that it is actually so? What does “biodynamic program” mean? Is it or is it not biodynamic? These are difficult and often confusing questions for all consumers.
To supply accurate information and try to “unscramble” the confusing morass of terms being thrown around today is the responsibility of wine writers, health professionals, marketing and PR professions, as well as the wineries themselves. And as we have seen, it is not always an easy task.
Hopefully, by asking questions and engaging is respectful dialogue, each of us will learn more.
(As an aside, I would have addressed my comments to you personally and privately had any mechanism for feedback directly to you been provided on the blog or the Inertia Beverage website.)
Thanks for your thoughtful consideration of my comments.
November 17th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Hi, Kenny. As I have said in most of my posts, indeed ALL efforts toward more environmentally friendly agricutlure should be embraced. And my posts have in no way been intended to discredit or even relegate relative merit to one system or the other. Only to point out that, just as you would be annoyed to find someone else eating your “organic” lunch (as I understand you are a certified organic producer), and just as I (the consumer) would be greatly annoyed to find that produce or wine I had paid top dollar for, that was labeled “organic”, really wasn’t….so might a consumer looking for biodynamic wines…..or a biodynamic producer who had worked very hard for his or her certification….be annoyed to find someone else “eating his lunch”.
Understanding and honoring these distinctions is important to me as a consumer.
November 17th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
P.S. Kenny, check the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program progress report on the Wine Institute’s website for an answer to your question “does anyone ever talk about social sustainability”? You will find a diagram of the group’s “vision” on page 3: three intertwined circles that represent Environmentally Sound, Economically Feasible, and Socially Equitable. Indeed, the issue of farm workers and their lives has been a part of the sustainability discussion for years. Again, I make no judgement on whether or not such discussions have been effective and by whose standards, but, yes, the matter has long been included in sustainability discussions.
November 19th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
I think you miss my point - which is that TRUE sustainability does include these social issues but that the industry chooses to focus on the environmental. Regardless of what the WI says when was the last time you read a press release about social or economic sustainability? Speaking of economic sustainability - thanks Inertia for talking about what we do and sending some business to us! Without selling wine, we can’t complete our sustainable mission.