Beyond Biodynamics: The Naked Winemaker

There have been many articles appearing lately that question the relevance of Biodynamic grapegrowing practices.

And some of the Biodynamic preparations do cause one to shudder. Fresh bull heads with horns attached that are filled with oak bark. Manure and compost stuffed into said horns which are then buried in the vineyards.

Mostly though, Biodynamics is about following chemical free grapegrowing as well as a specific lunar calendar for vine pruning, natural pesticide applications, grape picking, etc

And there is no doubt that some of the world's top wineries follow Biodynamic principles. Domaine Romanee Conti , Domaine Dujac, Didier Dagueneau, Zind Humbrecht,M. Chapoutier, Bürklin-Wolf, Alvaro Palacios, Robert Sinskey, Viader, Frog's Leap Quivira, etc just to name a few.

I am a supporter of the Biodynamic wine movement and seek these wines out whenever possible.

Recently though, I heard of a winemaker who had taken it all a bit too far, even for me.
For many years, Francois Vigneron had followed all of the Biodynamic practices at his vineyard in the south of France. But he was not happy with the wine produced from his vines. The resulting wines were lackluster and tartly rustic, therefore almost unsaleable.

Francois finally concluded that he and his staff were bringing bad energy and contaminants into the winery on their shoes and clothing.
As a result, he made a drastic decision. No clothing or shoes could be worn by anyone who entered his winemaking facility.

This was not so difficult to enforce since his staff was made up of a small group of men who have worked for him for many years. The picture above shows some of the staff during last autumn's grape crush.

Francois claims that his wine quality has soared as a result and will be releasing the first vintage of Bare Nekkid wines later this year.

Bringing Sexy Back to Organic Wines

I have seen multiple stories recently of how strong the organic/biodynamic wine niche remains even during these turbulent economic times.
It's true that this is a very heartening overall trend in the U.S., that people are paying attention to what they put into their bodies.

But I think this trend is somewhat due to the fact that Organics has finally developed sex appeal.

Let's start with the surface level, as one usually does. Compare the rosy, plump organic apples available today with the withered, pockmarked organic produce of recent history.

Same goes for wine where we used to have only oxidized, poor quality organic wines available, but now that hundreds of well respected wineries around the world have fully embraced organic and biodynamic grape growing, we are experiencing amazingly silky, stunning wines.

I went to The Ten Bells wine bar in lower Manhattan this week. Ten Bells is a true French style wine bar. There are similar venues throughout Paris. Small, sexy, convivial and crowded. You are there to talk loud, laugh long, eat and drink with gusto.

A relatively limited food and wine selection but all of exceptional quality and highly recommended. Ten Bells focuses on organic and biodynamic wines.
The staff were gruff but tender and authentically passionate about their chalkboard menu. I felt absolutely confident to put myself in their very capable hands.

I wish I could have gotten a good photo of FiFi, our wonderful host. But Ten Bells is dark and hectic. He was gorgeous, charming and smelled delicious. He suggested the Catherine and Pierre Breton Bourgueil and I knew he was the man for me.

We drank the Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Trinch! 2007. $17
It had crunchy red fruit flavors, touch of minerality and fennel.
Easy to find online and very easy to drink with charcuterie.

Wine and Family

I have a love/hate relationship with wine trade shows. I love the opportunity to discover new wines and revisit old favorites. But I dislike the crowds and there is a small minority of attendees who, despite their wine professional status, do become rather messy towards the end of the show.

The Family Winemakers of California Show was in Pasadena this past week. I attended with one of my brothers, who is an internet marketing savant. We are working together on launching a new wine related project later this year.

It was a refreshing experience to attend with someone who is a wine lover but not part of the trade. His lack of pretense, curiosity and pure enjoyment reminded me of why I followed my passion and entered the wine trade in 1996.

As you walked into exhibition hall with hundreds of wineries set up at tasting tables, there was a heady smell of grapey goodness in the air.

While you will inevitably find some treasures by just wandering around aimlessly, I always come with an agenda. It is an easy process of elimination for me since I focus mostly on wines made from organic and biodynamic grapes.

Here were some of my favorites this year:

Cabot Vineyards
Core Wines
Clif Family Winery
Demetria Estate
Jeriko Estate
Grgich Hills Estate
Kukkula Wine
Casa Barranca Winery

The Local Picnic Challenge

With the economy in the doldrums, many of us have increasingly bunkered down at home to cut down on costs.
But spring has sprung in many regions of the U.S. and it is time to take that party outside.

I was traveling in Northern California this past week and had a magical picnic at Hog Island Oyster Farm.
Hog Island has a well known restaurant at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. But they also have a picnic area close to their oyster farm in Tomales Bay, about an hour north of San Francisco.
Gorgeous view and only $10 per dozen for high quality, perfect oysters, which had only left their salty Tomales Bay home a few hours before.
Catch is that you have to open them yourself. This is difficult at first but provides ample opportunity to laugh at yourself and your loved ones.

This was a simple and inexpensive pleasure. I bought a baguette, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, green olives and some local organic strawberries at BiRite market in the Mission area of SF.
BiRite has their own private label wine called 18th Street wines, all made from organic grapes.

All picnic items except the olives were grown and produced within 100 miles of our picnic.
This was no political exercise just a pursuit of pleasure.
What a feast for only:
$20 for two dozen oysters
$12.99 18th Street Sauvignon Blanc
$3 baguette
$3 olives
$4 strawberries

Wherever you live, grab a loved one and some locally produced organic drinks and treats and go bask in the early springtime sun.
We have become food obsessed nation, discover and support the innovators near you!

This is my challenge to you. Organize a picnic focused on locally produced and hopefully organic ingredients. In this time of cutbacks and implied scarcity, let's celebrate our bounty.

Brisket and beer in Texas, Bourbon and burgers in Kentucky, Pinot Noir and wild mushroom salad in Oregon, Long Island Riesling and local whiting fillets in New York....you get the idea.

A Spanish Crush

I admit it, I have a crush on wines from northwestern Spain.
Maybe I am drawn to the romantic visions of rugged winemakers toiling in the cool coastal weather. Or maybe it's because I am a seafood fanatic and this region is famous for it's world class treasures of the sea.
Or perhaps it is the fact that the most famous grapes from this region, Albarino and Mencia, almost always perform admirably in every price range.

I am virtually never disappointed by the crisp apple flavors of Albarino or the mineral laden, blueberry notes of Mencia.
Seriuously, if you find wines made from either of these grapes at a restaurant or wine shop, buy them with a sense of security.

The Petalos 2007 is made by Descendientes de José Palacios.
Gorgeous dark floral aromas, like violets. Tangy blueberry flavors and a firm minerality (like you get from some mineral waters) that holds it all together.

This wine is made with 100% Mencia grapes from the Bierzo region. The grapes are grown using biodynamic viticulture. Biodynamics involves organic grapegrowing practices plus many extra steps to insure the land is self-sustaining.

Alvaro Palacios is the winemaker. He is considered an iconoclast in the Spanish winemaking world. Alvaro took a chance on the then unknown Priorat region of Spain in the late eighties. And he has taken another well educated bet on the Bierzo region where the Mencia grape is grown. He also practices biodynamic viticulture, which firmly puts him in the domain of wine industry iconoclasts and romantics.

You can buy it online. $18

Life of the Party

Life Pinot Noir is a new pet project for Cooper Mountain winemaker, Gilles de Domingo. I am a big fan of Cooper Mountain wines. All of their estate grown grapes are Demeter certified biodynamic.

I recently tasted the Life Pinot Noir 2007.
Color: dark garnet
Aromas: earth, forest mushrooms and juicy cherry
Flavors: vibrant raspberry and more cherry, fresh herbs, wonderful acidity
Food match: Moroccan style tuna kebobs
Life is a biodynamic wine with no added sulfites. For the moment, only available at the winery and EcoVine Wine Club.

Gilles is from a winemaking family in Bordeaux and has made wine in France, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia before settling with Cooper Mountain in Oregon.
I asked Gilles a few questions about Life and himself below.

Is LIFE available for purchase anywhere?
LIFE wine is produced on limited quantity (100 cases /year) therefore it can be find at the winery or on some shops


Please tell me about the winemaking process for Life, especially about your thinking behind not adding sulfites.

The winemaking process is quite simple: Designation of block in our vineyard, cropping low, Native yeast, Native bacterias, Barrel aging, temperature of storage is at 55-56 degrees.

Starting 2002, Cooper Mountain Vineyards is producing a No Sulfite Added Wine because of several reasons:

1) Sulfites denature the aromatic profile of a wine and therefore, in a certain extent, it eliminates the notion of pure expression of terroir. A no sulfite added wine made from Biodynamic Grapes should be seen as the ultimate form of Biodynamic Wine.

2) Scientific reasons:

a) SO2 is a known to limit the oxidation of a wine (antioxidant). Because of numerous research tend to demonstrate the powerful antioxidant effect of polyphenols naturally contains in grapes, we believe that these polyphenols can replace the antioxidant effect in wine.

b) SO2 is known to limit the microbiological spoilage in wines. Based on the concept that microbiological spoilage could be prevented by applying the medical theory that the abuse of antibiotics will decrease the immune system of an human, the SO2 should be seen as an antibiotic and therefore decrease the natural population of positive yeast/bacterias. In conclusion, the objective is to "enrich" the level of native yeast/bacterias in the vineyard/cellar in order to compete with the negative population.

3) SO2 allergy
The owner of Cooper Mountain is a physician who believes that anybody should be able to drink wine.


What are your thoughts about sulfites and processes for avoiding the usual problems of sulfite free wine?
After the first addition of Sulfite in a wine (after ML for a Pinot Noir), any winemaker will notice a bleaching effect on the wine. This observation is the demonstration that sulfite is somewhat as some strong side effect which reduce the potential of a wine.
The process of avoiding problems are based on several factors:
- 90 % of a sulfite free wine is made on the vineyard: Naturally increasing the level of antioxidant on the berries by cropping low, avoiding excess spray, dry farming works better, exposition, etc...
- 10 % of a sulfite free wine is made on the cellar: If the berries are naturally healthy (full of life and good immune system), the job is quite very easy.

In conclusion, in our opinion with patience and dedication, the use of sulfites will tend to significantly decrease on the future because it could simply replaced naturally.


What is you first wine related memory?
As a good French teenager, partying with wine was a great think to do. Because my family had an enormous quantity of wine in their cellar, I was the kid in charge of taking some bottles in order to party with my friends. Years later and when I stopped to be a spoiled teenager, I realized that I was taking some 1964 Chateau Gruaud Laroze or Chateau Latour...Sorry dad!

What would be your favorite meal with a bottle of Life Pinot Noir?
Take a nice piece of steak (with Fat around). Cook it with sea salt, garlic and put Pinot on the top of the steak. Serve it with Green beans. No sauce, please.
Serve Life with this steak.

Wine Reviews for the Average Joe and Jane

Marcy Rye and her brother started Wine GuideLine because they were wine consumers who grew tired of the mind numbingly long wine reviews, peppered with esoteric descriptors, that are widely available both on and off line.

This is an issue close to my heart. Mostly because I want more Americans to make wine a part of their everyday eating experience. And brief,easily accessible wine information and reviews will help that cause tremendously.

I have to admit that I am often times bored to tears by the long-winded and self aggrandizing wine reviews I read both off and online every week.
And I am a wine professional and major wine geekgirl.
Can you imagine how the casual wine consumer feels?


Wine GuideLine took matters into their own hands and retweaked the traditional wine review format to make it more user friendly for average wine drinkers.
This week they have taken several different wines made of single varietals and tasted them side by side with an organic wine counterpart.

On their current SnobGoblet page, they provide a clear and concise definitions of what exactly makes a wine organic or biodynamic.

Bottom line is that wine consumers do want guidance with their wine choices. And yes, there is a small cadre of wine drinkers who want to read very long winded wine reviews (ahem, ebobparker crowd raise your hands).

But it is high time that we spend more time and energy reaching out to the millions of casual wine drinkers and make it easy for them to understand and enjoy a glass of vino.

I applaud Wine GuideLine for their departure from the navel gazing and elitist attitudes that permeate so many other wine review sites.

In that spirit, I offer my wine recommendation for the day. Always short, always sweet.

Jekel Vineyards Riesling 2007 $10
Sweet lime, apricot and tropical fruit (think passionfruit) flavors.
Touch of mineral stones and petrol on the nose (this is a great sign in Rieslings!).
Great acidity keeps the wine light and refreshing.
This is going to be beautiful with pan fried cod and sauteed spring peas for dinner.