Biodynamic, Organic and Natural Winemaking

Following Nicolas Joly's book on biodynamic wine a few years ago, this new book is a definitive and beautifully illustrated guide by two Swedes running their own business in Paris. It is not in itself an argument for organic wine production but rather explains what the various concepts mean within the context of different forms of agriculture. It describes the history of European vineyards and the emergence of organic winegrowing, where Spain, Italy and France of the largest producers. Interestingly, total organic hectares rose from 160,000 in 2010 to 260,000 by 2012 - and surely much more today as so many producers are converting after appreciating the importance of terroir and conserving the quality of their soil. In France, this represents 8% of planted area. The authors describe the nuts and bolts of organic winegrowing including pest control by natural means. They also explain how to go organic and the practicalities of biodynamic wine production with its special composts and respect for the cycles of nature. There are also chapters on work inside the cellar, additives, sustainable winegrowing in leading countries and a final chapter on the environmental big picture. At the end, there is a glossary of their favourite natural wine, organic and biodynamic wine producers, among whom I recognised a few names, for instance Pontet-Canet. In this context, Melanie Tesseron remarked that "with biodynamic you protect instead of cure, and you get a better fruit in the wine. And a fruity wine does not need any make-up."