Biodynamics are horning in.

Michael Topolos had been growing grapes organically for years when he heard about biodynamic farming. "I was looking for an edge, for another dimension to our wines," Topolos said in a recent interview. "I talked to Greg Willis at Agri-Synthesis in Napa in 1995. He told me about it. It was a

"Greg brought me a box of apples from Golden Hooves orchard in Mendocino and he brought over a sprig of rosemary that he grows using methods that he developed. We grow rosemary all over the property here. When I compared his rosemary to mine, his was like five times more intense. When the apples came I took a bite out of one and was stunned by the perfume, the texture. Even more, that one apple sated my appetite for hours because it filled those spots that aren't normally filled, because so much of our food is grown on depleted soils. It was an amazing experience. I thought, 'My God, if I could transfer some of this magic into grapes,' and that started the whole process," he said.

The techniques of biodynamic farming are not easy to grasp, as Topolos pointed out. Biodynamics has been called part philosophy, part agriculture. Much of it is based in traditional agricultural techniques that have been followed for generations, such as composting and recycling waste products into the fields.

Michael Benziger began converting the estate vineyard in Glen Ellen to biodynamic techniques in 1997. "My first thought was, 'How am I going to explain to the guys working in the vineyards what I'm up to?' When they listened to me, they started laughing and smiling. When I asked what was going on, one guy said, 'That's how we have been farming in Mexico for generations. That was important to me, because biodynamics won't work without the people in the fields believing in it, doing it right. It's no good for me to sit in an office and talk about biodynamics." He added that he was more committed than ever to the process.

Anne Mendenhall of The Demeter Association, said of the philosophy or agriculture issue: "You can read a lot of stuff about biodynamics, some of which is true, some is outrageous. Biodynamics is a way of approaching nature so as to enhance the relationship, to assist and support the natural life processes. Nature responds by giving back a very high quality product. The biodynamic farmer tries to give to nature what is needed in this relationship. The thought behind this, the philosophy if you will, is that all life on earth is supported by unseen processes which are guided by spiritual entities much greater than we are, and that we can learn to work with these entities."

(Demeter is a worldwide organization which certifies biodynamic farms and has a trademark on the term "Biodynamic [TM]." This, in effect, gives Demeter a monopoly on the term. The organization has taken legal action against those using the term if there is no Demeter certification.) Kendra Baumgartner, a researcher in plant pathology for the USDA Agriculture Research Service in Davis, said, "Many of the practices used by biodynamic growers are the same as practices used by all growers, conventional, organic and biodynamic. These include irrigation practices, cover-crop management practices, nonchemical weed control practices and sulfur use for powdery mildew control. Therefore, if a conventional grower wants to be semi-biodynamic and decided that using mechanical cultivation for weed control was the way to achieve this, the grower would kind of be missing the point. The preparations and when they are applied, in relation to the lunar cycle (I think), is the key to being biodynamic."

On the use of compost, which adds organic matter to the soil, Baumgartner said via e-mail: "Soil organic matter is an important measure of soil health and some practices are better than others at increasing it."

Of the special biodynamic preparations used in composting, Baumgartner, who is involved in research on sustainable agriculture, said, "I think that organic matter is organic matter; whether you use stinging nettle or not, it's all good. The moon signs stuff is a bit odd, but if it gets growers out in their vineyards, they may notice a problem that they normally wouldn't see from inside the pick-up truck. For example, maybe if a grower is out stuffing a cow horn with "stuff" on the night of a full moon, the grower may notice that an irrigation line is busted and several rows of vines are getting all the water for the whole vineyard."

She did sound a note of caution:

"I hate to sound like a nozzle-head, but I am a plant pathologist by training. Some disease and pest problems cannot be helped by nonchemical methods (while still keeping grapevines around). Sometimes nuking an infested vineyard is the best way to prevent additional infestations for introduced pests like the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS). Biodynamic and organic growers are limited in this respect."

Those who follow organic and biodynamic methods insist, however, that they are not helpless in the face of insect invasions. They argue that, in fact, they can direct the forces of Mother Nature against pests like GWSS. Topolos, for example, grows 20 to 25 different cover-crops to attract beneficial insects like lace wings, ladybugs and spiders.

"In the springtime, after flowering and when the moisture level is just about perfect, we mow every other row. The beneficials move to the unmowed row. A few weeks later, we mow the rest of the rows and the beneficials jump onto the vines where we want them," he said.

"The process is so rational," Topolos said. "It's really peasant stuff that has been handed down from generation to generation of farms.

It's building the soil, putting back more than you take out. When you harvest 3-5 tons of grapes on an acre of ground, you are taking a lot of minerals and nutrients out of the soil."

Topolos uses compost to replace the minerals and nutrients. He blends a compost mix of 60% cattle manure, 20% horse manure, 10% pig manure and 10% pomace from the winery, all blended with an equal amount of straw. When the temperature rises to 150[degrees]F, the compost is sprayed with special preparations made by AgriSynthesis.

There are nine different biodynamic preparations (See separate box); however, Topolos uses two sprays prepared by Agro-Synthesis which accomplish the same result, he said. "It is really incredible. We changed the pH of our soil one full point by using 6 ounces per acre. It would have taken 2 tons of lime to make the same change," he said.

"After the compost cools down, the red worms come up out of the ground into the compost. When the worms go back into the ground, the compost is ready," he said. The process can take up to seven or eight months.

Asked how biodynamics differed from organics, Topolos said: "Organic is passive, biodynamics is very active. There is a spirituality involved. It takes a leap. Conventional farming is irrational. It's growing one thing and killing everything else. What we are doing is partnering with Mother Nature instead of trying to dominate her."

Topolos, who produces about 18,000 cases of wine annually, was the "American Biodynamic Association Winemaker of the Year" in 1998 and has been named a Master Organic Farmer, one of only 200 in California.

Asked what has been the biggest change in his vineyards since he began using biodynamic-based methods, he said, "I want to be there. Twenty years ago it was all work, not so much joy. Now I want to be in the vineyard." He also said that biodynamic viticulture is cheaper than traditional vine farming.

(Topolos doesn't call his wines biodynamic, since he is not a member of Demeter and is not certified.)

Difference In The Wines

Mike Benziger, who began converting to biodynamics in 1997, said in the early years, he didn't see much difference in the wine. "It's a natural system and it takes a while to work. But last year I started seeing the payoff, and the 2002 vintage was impressive. Every single lot of wine we produced on the estate is a candidate for the final estate blend. It's been a dramatic change. In the year 2000, 58% of the wine was a candidate for the estate blends, in 2001 it was 73%, last year, all of it."

Benziger was careful to make the point that it isn't just the 47 acres of estate vines that are certified biodynamic, but the entire 82-acre property. "The biodynamic concept extends to the whole farm. We consider it as a unit. We spend as much money and time on areas outside the vineyard as we do on the vineyard itself. Our olive oil won the sweepstakes award last year at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair," he said.

Benziger said one of the things that became clear through biodynamic farming was that the old model of planting vines "wall to wall" didn't work. "We took out 5 or 6 acres that just should not have been planted. We put in olive trees and that has paid off now."

Benziger said his farming expenses per acre are the same as that expected for mountain vineyards. "The only area we spend more than we should is weed control. Because we have a lot of visitors, I like to keep it looking neat. Now I'm going to try and convince people that weeds aren't bad. Anyway, maybe that's a marketing expense, not a farming expense," he said.

As to marketing, Benziger said that the only way to compete in the global market was on the quality of the wine, and to offer a different product. "We produce a completely authentic wine from a piece of property. If you are a small producer, you can't compete on price with the BRL Hardys of the world," he said. "The only advantage we have is quality and a wine with a strong sense of place."

The Fetzer family interest in organic farming led Jim Fetzer to convert the McNab Ranch in Mendocino County to biodynamics. It was certified biodynamic in 1997. Kathleen's Vineyard was certified biodynamic in 1996. It is on the site of the original Fetzer home vineyard.

Jim Fetzer is now in the process of creating Ceago del Lago on the northern shore of Clear Lake in Lake County. Ceago is derived from a Pomo Indian word meaning "grass seed valley." The 270-acre estate will eventually have grapes, olives and walnuts and, eventually, a new winemaking facility. Fetzer will focus on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc. The first wines, called Ceago Vinegarden, come from the Mendocino vineyards and were made in Redwood Valley, the site of the original winery started by Kathleen and Bernard Fetzer in 1968.

"Our mission," Jim Fetzer said, "is to craft small lots of wine made from estate-grown organic and biodynamic grapes," he said. According to Fetzer, the plan is to develop an agricultural resort-style operation that promotes a holistic farming environment. The development will center around a hacienda-style compound of buildings with plantings of fruits, vegetables, herbs, grapes, kiwis, olives, walnuts, figs, wheat and a variety of flower crops. Domestic (and wild) animals will be incorporated into the project. There will be demonstration kitchens, dining areas and guest rooms.

"What I want to do is not only make world-class wine, which I'm sure we can do in Lake County, but create an agriculture center for education. I want people to see where their food comes from, to have a connection with the land," Fetzer said.

Resources:

Agri-Synthesis, Inc., P.O. Box 1007, Napa, CA 94581. Tel.: (707) 258-9300, e-mail: info@agsyn.com.

Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, Inc., Building 1002B, Thoreau Center, The Presidio, P.O. Box 29135, San Francisco, CA 94129-0135. Tel.: (888) 516-7797, Fax: (415) 561-7796. e-mail: biodynamic@aol.com, Web site: biodynamics.com.

The Demeter Association, Britt Road, Aurora, NY 13026. Tel.: (315) 365-5617, Fax: (315) 364-5224, e-mail: demeter@baldcom.net, Web site: demeter-usa.org.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Heart Of Biodynamics

The biodynamic approach to agriculture is based on a series of lectures delivered in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian better known for his works on philosophy and spirituality than agriculture. His mission was to connect the material and the spiritual world. He created something called "the spiritual science of anthroposophy" to accomplish this.

Steiner's followers, largely in Germany in the beginning, developed nine different preparations which are the core of the biodynamic method. They are known by numbers, 500 through 508. Perhaps the most striking is 500. Cow manure is stuffed in a cow horn, which is buried and left in the soil over the winter. In the spring, the horn is dug up, mixed in water and sprayed over the soil. Number 501 also involves a cow horn, which is stuffed with ground quartz mixed with rainwater, buried underground through the summer and then sprayed on plants.

Other preparations are applied to compost. They include materials such as yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettles, oak bark, dandelion, valerian and a horsetail tea. The last is used as a spray to combat fungal diseases, although a copper-based treatment such as Bordeaux mixture is allowed.

Greg Willis of Agri-Synthesis, Inc. (the consultant who inspired Michael Topolos with his rosemary and apples) has developed what he calls Homeopathic Field Spray Concentrates, a mixture of various herbs and minerals, which he says are superior to the traditional biodynamic preparations. His products are based on Steiner's work.

"Let me say absolutely and unequivocally that Steiner's field and compost remedies work as he predicted," Willis said. However, Willis said that some of today's biodynamic procedures, such as the various agriculture calendars were "unscientific and unproved."

The cost of the materials for Agri-Synthesis' field sprays is $60 per acre per application. He recommends three applications per year for wine grapes. The compost sprays cost $16 for four ounces and treat up to 10 cubic yards of compost. Willis has also developed a cover-crop complex, made up of companion plants, barrier plants and flavor influencing plants.

His book, Agri-Synthesis[TM] Viticulture, will be on the market in 60 days.