Biodinamical and organic winemaking. What is the difference?

GREAT answer Mike. I think I will cut and paste it and keep it for the
next time someone asks that inevitable question.
But shouldn't one mention Steiner when referring to the philosophies
of biodynamique?


In article > Mike
> wrote:

> wrote:
>> Biodinamical and organic winemaking. What is the difference?

> Organic = meeting the specifications of an organic labelling
> authority. Depending on country can be more (France) or less
> (Italy) serious. In all cases never refers to organic wine (the
> concept does not exist) but only to the grapes used to make wine.
> Hence "wine from organically grown grapes" is the legal label. This
> means that once harvested the grapes can be vinified with no more
> contraints on the use of chemicals than those already in place for
> normal wines. From experience, some wines from organically grown
> grapes are great, but most are no better than the average and can
> contain huge amounts of SO2.
>
> Biodynamic = organic wine that also follows some extra
> specifications by Demeter or Biodivin, all based on some really crazy
> ideas that somehow (i.e. in a way that does not imply a causality
> between the prescribed voodoo and the results) often result in some
> very good wines being made.
>
>

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AxisOfBeagles wrote:
> GREAT answer Mike. I think I will cut and paste it and keep it for the
> next time someone asks that inevitable question.
> But shouldn't one mention Steiner when referring to the philosophies
> of biodynamique?

Yes, Steiner is the basis for biodynamie. Great screen name, BTW.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Chuckle - thanks. Have posted for a long time as Ric, but decided to
return to a nom de plume; it IS the interent, after all!
> Yes, Steiner is the basis for biodynamie. Great screen name, BTW.
>
> Mark Lipton
>

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You can download it at http://www.malcom-mac.com/nemo

> GREAT answer Mike.

In fact I nominate it for the FAQ.

Jose
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know what button to push, and those that want to know what happens when
they push the button.
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"Mike Tommasi" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>> Biodinamical and organic winemaking. What is the difference?
>
> Organic = meeting the specifications of an organic labelling authority.
> Depending on country can be more (France) or less (Italy) serious. In all
> cases never refers to organic wine (the concept does not exist) but only
> to the grapes used to make wine. Hence "wine from organically grown
> grapes" is the legal label. This means that once harvested the grapes can
> be vinified with no more contraints on the use of chemicals than those
> already in place for normal wines. From experience, some wines from
> organically grown grapes are great, but most are no better than the
> average and can contain huge amounts of SO2.
>
> Biodynamic = organic wine that also follows some extra specifications by
> Demeter or Biodivin, all based on some really crazy ideas that somehow
> (i.e. in a way that does not imply a causality between the prescribed
> voodoo and the results) often result in some very good wines being made.
>

Didn't the former owners of Ch. Montrose start a biodynamic vineyard?
Graham

Mike Tommasi > wrote:

First, all my excuses for being late. For some reasons totally
unknown to me, my newsreader didn'd show afw for weeks, and for
equally unknown reasons, today it worked again.

>> Biodinamical and organic winemaking. What is the difference?

> Organic = meeting the specifications of an organic labelling
> authority. Depending on country can be more (France) or less
> (Italy) serious. In all cases never refers to organic wine (the
> concept does not exist) but only to the grapes used to make
> wine.

Sorry to contradict, but in German speaking countries, the concept
does exist. The two lines are called "organisch-biologisch" and
"biologisch-dynamisch", and wines obtained from both ways mal
legally be called "Bio-Wein" (organic wine).

> Hence "wine from organically grown grapes" is the legal label.

As I have said: Not true for At and DE (don't know about CH).

> This means that once harvested the grapes can be vinified with
> no more contraints on the use of chemicals than those already in
> place for normal wines. From experience, some wines from
> organically grown grapes are great, but most are no better than
> the average and can contain huge amounts of SO2.

True for non-rganic wines, too.

> Biodynamic = organic wine that also follows some extra
> specifications by Demeter or Biodivin, all based on some really
> crazy ideas that somehow (i.e. in a way that does not imply a
> causality between the prescribed voodoo and the results) often
> result in some very good wines being made.

"Often"? Hmmm ...

Here in Austria, some top growers (Loimer, Ott, Fritsch, Gernot
Heinrich, John Nittnaus, Hans Czerny) are officially converting to
biodynamics. Thus said, the best organic wines over here - which
do compete with the best Austria has to offer - are grown
organically by Ilse Maier from Geyerhof estate in Kremstal.

M.

Mike Tommasi > wrote:

>> "Often"? Hmmm ...

> Ostertag, Deiss, Muré, Faller, Kreydenweiss, Chapoutier, Huet,
> Gaillard, Joly, Selosse, Comtes Lafon, Lalou Bize-Leroy,
> Leflaive...

Quite franco-centriste, cette liste ... ;-)

How about DRC?

M.

Mike Tommasi > wrote:

>> Quite franco-centriste, cette liste ... ;-)

> Well yours was a bit germano-centric ;-)

Did I post a list?

>> How about DRC?

> Gravner, Radikon, Maule...

Sorry, but I wanted to know about what's happening at DRC.

M.

Mike Tommasi > wrote:

> I heard about DRC going bioD also, but honestly I dont know the
> details...

Merci beaucoup e mille grazie!

M.