Honouring Demeter: Biodynamics in wine
Shouldn’t we be concerned when sourcing our drink?
I was recently revisiting some Greek myths in an old book I have and came across the story of Demeter. She was the goddess of agriculture and the harvest whose daughter Persephone was taken by Hades to the underworld to be his wife.
Demeter mourns and endlessly searches for her daughter, and while she does so the earth is neglected; crops fail, the climate is erratic and famine ensues. It gets so dire that Zeus has to intervene and get Persephone back. However an agreement is made with Hades that she must return to the underworld for four months a year, during which Demeter grieves for her daughter’s absence, thereby creating winter.
What intrigued me most about the myth was that even in a story that is thousands of years old, the ramifications about neglect and care for the earth is critical. Personally, when I think of agriculture I think of grape growing, and how the way vines are treated directly affect the quality of the wine, and more indirectly, the consumer. Therefore I can’t help but think: If we are getting so careful in how we are sourcing our food, shouldn’t this apply to how we drink?
There are some organic wineries, many more that follow sustainable practices, but only a fraction that are biodynamic.
Biodynamic farming is a holistic view of agriculture, where the vineyard is an ecosystem that adopts practices such as using livestock to fertilize the soil and follows the guide of celestial influences (for example, the phases and astrological position of the moon). Winemakers and grape growers intervene as little as possible, for example by abstaining from using sulphites (which help stabilize wine), in order to preserve the natural identity of the product.
Many skeptics will say its dogmatic and there isn’t any scientific evidence that it is beneficial. They have a point, certainly, but I think that might be what makes it a plausible case. We are living in the age of science, and with our modern lens we are able to evaluate this ancient practice and still consider it a viable way to farm.
Look no further than to Niagara’s Southbrook Vineyards or Tawse Winery and you’ll find two very successful biodynamic, organic wineries with awardwinning wines, savvy-designed retail spaces and impassioned winemakers and staff.
I spoke with Ann Sperling, winemaker at Southbrook, to gather some insight into the practices and the projects she is working on.
Southbrook has many wines, but there are a few styles that use ancient practices (and are on trend with wine geeks). The 2016 Estate Orange Wine is an example of the rare occurrence where white grapes are allowed to ferment along with their skins; infusing the wine with colour, tannin and flavour. The 2017 Biodynamic Bubbly is a “pet-nat” style; fermented in bottle, crown capped and sold — yeast and all — in a delicious, gently sparkling format.
She’s even mastering cider, creating a farmhouse-style that’s refreshing, aromatic and has just the right amount of acidity to quench the palate.
Her products may take months longer to be ready, but Ann believes it’s worth it. Her wines are all fermented using wild, natural airborne yeast (a common biodynamic practice). Working with wild yeast can be grueling, as it doesn’t follow the ‘recipe’ that cultured yeasts do. Some of Ann’s wines, for example, will still be fermenting on and off nine months later, whereas most cul- tured yeasts finish fermenting in a few weeks.
This fact alone is why I think I hold her in such a high regard. She is someone who truly honours the ingredients she works with. She gently guides her fruit along the way to becoming wine, and lets their true personality shine by the end. This takes a high level of patience, in a world where we are so impatient to wait for anything.
I asked her how she finds the balance between doing what she wants to do and providing what the consumer demands. She said it’s simple. “I am just motivated to do good work. I simply try to make it taste good.” One may wonder why companies use these ancient biodynamic practices if the investment seems so onerous, but advocates believe it’s a way to get closer to the true expression of terroir (that ‘sense of place’, the taste of where a wine comes from).
Appropriately, the international organization for certification in biodynamics is named “Demeter”.
It seems that this year Persephone must have extended her stay in the underworld by a few months. But now she has returned, and joyful Demeter has brought spring back to us all. With this fresh new season, I look to where the wine industry is headed. I certainly see more of Niagara’s community supporting local farmer’s markets, buying organic, reading labels in grocery stores, and in general supporting the idea that we all have a role to play in protecting our planet.
There are some major international wineries practicing biodynamics already; from Bonterra in California to France’s Louis Roederer, the Champagne house that makes Cristal. And statistics have shown that wine consumers would like to see more biodynamic practices used. So perhaps the future of wine is actually from the past. We’ll just have to see.