ORGANIC
VITICULTURE AND VINIFICATION
ORGANIC
No man-made chemicals & no-GMOs
Grapes are grown organically, and all additives are organic, in the vineyard and at the winery (fining products, yeast, etc.)
PRINCIPLES
FEED THE SOIL, NOT THE PLANT
ENCOURAGE BIODIVERSITY ABOVE AND BELOW THE GROUND
FERTILIZER
Fertilizer prohibited on leaves.
Cover crops between vineyard rows to reduce soil erosion (yellow lupine and leguminous plants such as vetch and clover). They force vines to root more deeply in search of water as the crop uses water from the topsoil.
Green manure
HERBICIDES / PESTICIDES
Cover crops and plants attract pollinators and become a habitat for beneficial insects which attack spider mites and other pests
Animals to control insects and pests (sheep, chicken, ducks, etc.)
Copper sulfate as a replacement for fungicides, although controversial.
These slow-release organic composts (with a carbon-nitrogen ratio of around 15:1) help create the “soil-food web/wood-wide web.” This “soil internet” connects plant roots, fungi, and bacteria, allowing for a healthy interchange of food and water. Together they create ecosystems that are more resistant to frost, drought, disease, and loss of nutrients.
VINEYARD
Hedgerows to protect the vines from strong winds.
Good canopy management to prevent diseases, such as making sure it is open enough in cooler wetter climates to prevent mildew.
WINEMAKING
Virtually all techniques are allowed.
Blue fining i.e. PVPP (Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone) and potassium ferrocyanide are prohibited.
Natural products used in winemaking must be organic – for example, egg whites for fining, sugar for chaptalization or grape spirits to fortify wines.
THE WAY TO ORGANIC
No need to uproot and replant, unless vines are genetically modified.
Minimum three-year conversion period from sustainable to organic farming.
During years two and three, yields are lower, and plants more susceptible to disease. The quick-release fertilizers are exhausted, and the vines are not yet good at accessing slow-release nutrients from the soil, which is also in mid-stream in its journey to health.
NEIGHBOURING NON-ORGANIC VINYARDS
Cross-contamination may occur with neighboring non-organic vineyards. However, most treatments are applied from the ground.
Also, the same farmer may have both organic and sustainable plots; buffer zones are required between the two. The width of those zones varies depending on the certifying organization.
As organic producers demonstrate success both in the quality of the fruit and the marketplace, they are convincing their neighbors to go more sustainable. Organic producers also help conversion as they buy fruit from neighboring growers.
COPPER SULPHATE: BLUE MIRACLE OR BANE?
Commonly known as “Bordeaux mixture” the combination of sulfur and copper is used to fight downy mildew and powdery mildew.
Though usually manufactured, it occurs naturally in nature and so is the only currently approved fungicide for organic and biodynamic agriculture.
The EU agreed in 2018 to phase it out, deadline not determined.
BIODYNAMIC
HOLISTIC, ECOLOGICAL, AND ETHICAL
BIODYNAMIC
Combines the methods of organic agriculture with a philosophy where the land is part of the cosmos, influenced by tides, the moon, and stars.
PRINCIPLES
The cosmos has four elements: earth, air, water, fire. These, in turn and in order, affect the roots, flower, leaf and fruit of the vine.
THE GOAL IS TO BECOME AS SELF-CONTAINED AND SELF-RELIANT AS POSSIBLE
Limit the number of outside “imports” (produce your own fertilizer, use native yeasts, avoid synthetic materials), recycle, reuse, and encourage diversity.
For example, when the moon is descending (moving further South), it is a good time to prune as cuts heal more quickly due to reduced sap flow.
When sap rises in the mornings, work on leaves. As the sap goes down in the afternoon, work on roots. Racking is best when the pressure is right during a full moon.
Activities are planned according to a biodynamic calendar for maximum effectiveness. There are root, leaf, flower, and fruit time periods.
HOMEOPATHIC INFUSIONS FROM PLANTS AND ANIMAL MANURE ARE THE “FOODS.”
There are nine preparations, identified by numbers 500 through 508, that are applied as potentized liquid sprays to bring healing, vitality, and sensitivity to the farm and garden.
500 HORN MANURE
Stimulates soil life and root growth
501 QUARTZ SILICA
Enhances light metabolism (photosynthesis)
502 YARROW
Trace element uptake
503 CHAMOMILLE
Stabilizes nitrogen in compost and enhances soil life
504 NETTLE
Stimulates soil health
505 OAK BARK
Provides healing forces to combat plant diseases
506 DANDELION
Stimulates relationship between silica and potassium so that silica can attract cosmic forces to the soil
507 VALERIAN
Stimulates compost so that phosphorus will be properly used by the soil
508 HORSETAIL
Serves as a preventative to lessen the effects when conditions are conducive to fungus
Cow horn is filled with cow manure and buried in the ground to ferment for six months.
It is then diluted with water and sprayed onto the soil.
A cow horn is used because the salts and minerals the cow ingested while grazing leach into the manure.
THE WAY TO BIODYNAMIC
The transition from organic to biodynamic takes five years.
During that time, vines may be more vulnerable to disease as they have not yet adapted to the new regime and the soil is not quite healthy enough.
Yields can go down 15% to 20%. Whether that forfeit is forever, is unclear.
Higher maintenance costs than organic – approx. 15%.
ADVANTAGES OF BIODYNAMIC
Even greater soil health than with organics as the biological activity reaches further down, going into deeper layers, and there are higher concentrations of boron, magnesium, and potassium.
Vines become more disease-resistant and less water-reliant.
Less water-reliant grapes have grape skins thick enough to ward off diseases, and, not inconsequentially, the wines taste better (flavor comes from the skins, not the pulp).
Fruit ripens earlier, with more stable tartaric acid, and less malic acid.
Wines have more resistance to oxygen. For consumers that means that a bottle can stay open longer and not loose quality.
BIODIVERSITY
MAKING MOTHER NATURE WORK FOR YOU
THE WAY TO BIODYNAMIC
The vineyard ecosystem is made up of all the life forms that inhabit it, including plants, animals and microorganisms. All these life forms are able to create a real balance within the environment they inhabit, allowing it to adapt to environmental changes.
A PRACTICALTOOL THAT
IMPROVES SOIL HEALTH
ENCOURAGES BENEFICIAL
INSECTS AND ANIMALS
DETERS VINE ENEMIES
SHEEP
to control weeds and generate beneficial manure
FLOWERS AS BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL
“Insectary” of catmint, yarrow, copper fennel to attract beneficial insects, such as spiders and green lacewings, who are natural predators of leafhoppers
OWLS
Nest boxes for owls to control gophers, voles and field mice
FALCONS
Nesting poles for falcons and hawks who prey on starlings and other birds
CHICKENS
eat beetles, cutworms (moth larvae), and weeds, while also loosening the soil and leaving manure
BATS
Shelters to attract bats. They eat moth larvae; moth larvae love grapes, both early and late in the growing season
MEALYBUG DESTROYER
User flowering plants to attract the mealybug destroyer. The female will eat up to 250 of the sap-guzzling mealybugs in her short lifetime
sustainability
SOCIAL – ENVIRONMENTAL - ECONOMIC
Sustainable viticulture
Although agrichemicals and additives are allowed, sustainable certification carries strict rules.
It involves annual measurable progress in the journey to becoming ever more “green.”
Social welfare is one of the areas in which “sustainability” has had the greatest influence – the impact of the business on its workers, the local community and even on consumers.
Two different approaches
A PRACTICALTOOL THAT
A model program that works directly with farmers
The Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program (WASP) in Portugal helps train and provide practical help with onsite visits. To prevent “greenwashing,” when ready, the grower or winery applies for sustainability certification from one of four certifying organizations – not WASP.
A PRACTICALTOOL THAT
Sustainability Code for the Chilean Wine Industry (SCWI) stands out for its scope. It features 351 individual requirements divided into four categories:
The program is working on major initiatives, such as creating a methodology to measure carbon footprint reduction and then setting standards for producers to follow.
SOCIAL (PEOPLE)
Follow practices that guarantee human access to food and improvement of their welfare, and do not exploit workers.
ENVIRONMENTAL (PLANET)
Efficient use of resources and integrated approaches that minimize waste and negative impacts on both the natural and physical environment.
ECONOMIC (PROFIT)
Protecting the financial viability of farms and supporting the longevity of their business, including the ability to re-invest.