While we often seek out organic vegetables or sustainably sourced household and personal products, deliberately searching out biodynamic or organic wines doesn’t seem to be much of a priority. Yet, there’s no reason for it not to be, because of all the reasons why we opt for the former.
Johan Reyneke, the Owner and Viticulturalist at Reyneke Wines says while the organic wine option is environmentally sustainable, biodynamic wines strive to go beyond that. In fact, biodynamic wines even become self-sufficient ecosystems. “All biodynamic wines are organic, but not all organic wines are biodynamic. Biodynamics is one of the oldest forms of organic agriculture. It comes from a time when our ancestors farmed with a spiritual understanding.”
In the organic winemaking process, no artificial fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides or fungicides are allowed in the production of the grapes. Furthermore, the addition of additives in the cellar is restricted. Biodynamic farming uses no synthetic fertilisers or pesticides and works to achieve soil health using compost, animal and green manures, diverse crop rotations and the incorporation of livestock into the process.
Ladybird Vineyards’ winemaker, Francois van Zyl says that organic and biodynamic wines are healthier. He claims it’s because there are fewer additions to the wine and the chemical footprint in the production of organic wines is smaller.
Why, then – apart from availability – are organic wines not as widely consumed as their counterparts?
Read more about what Van Zyl and Reyneke have to say about the matter in our digital magazine, available here.
In the end, organic and biodynamic wines are healthier for us, and for the planet. Why is it that we don’t we seek out more earth-friendly wines then?
For more wine-related topics, head on over to our sister-blog, Suitcase & Chardonnay.
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