Our wines are largely artisan products, because we believe that quality derives from attentive and caring farming methods. Great terroir and selection of vineyard location, harvesting by hand, manual selection, low yields, minimal chemical intervention and observation of the natural rhythms helps to create the quality of raw ingredients necessary to make great wine - at every price level. We highlight those vineyards where sustainable or organic viticulture is practised and we now have a fair number of biodynamic growers as well in our portfolio (although quality is always our paramount reason for listing a wine). We like to think that all the wines we list reflect the peculiarities and strengths of the region and that every wine justifies its place. Our list is based on the quality of the producers and the wine they make.
What is Organic Farming?
Agricultural practices that avoid synthetic petrochemical products.
Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biological pest control. Depending on whose definition is used, organic farming uses fertilizers and pesticides (which include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides) if they are considered natural (such as bone meal from animals or pyrethrin from flowers), but it excludes or strictly limits the use of various methods (including synthetic petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides; plant growth regulators such as hormones; antibiotic use in livestock; genetically modified organisms; human sewage sludge; and nanomaterials.) for reasons including sustainability, openness, independence, health, and safety.
What is Biodynamics?
A more holistlic and environmentally-sound method of farming.
Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming originally developed by Rudolf Steiner that employs what proponents describe as "a holistic understanding of agricultural processes".One of the first sustainable agriculture movements, it treats soil fertility, plant growth, and livestock care as ecologically interrelated tasks, emphasizing spiritual and mystical perspectives. Proponents of biodynamic agriculture, including Steiner, have characterized it as "spiritual science" as part of the larger anthroposophy movement.
Biodynamics has much in common with other organic approaches – it emphasizes the use of manures and composts and excludes the use of artificial chemicals on soil and plants. Methods unique to the biodynamic approach include its treatment of animals, crops, and soil as a single system; an emphasis from its beginnings on local production and distribution systems; its use of traditional and development of new local breeds and varieties; and the use of an astrological sowing and planting calendar. Biodynamic agriculture uses various herbal and mineral additives for compost additives and field sprays.