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1/08 MEININGER’S WBI
MARKETS
THE ORGANIC GROWTH
OF BIODYNAMIC WINES
The American wine market, a world of critter brands, organic certification
and appellation wines, is already confusing enough to the average consumer.
But the emerging biodynamic category may manage to achieve the sales that
organic wines haven’t, suggests Larry Walker.
rganic wine sales in the United Benziger first introduced a bio-
O States have never hit the pace
that many expected. While organic
food sales in general are growing
dynamic (BD) wine in 2002. At the
time, it was a small part of the winery’s
production. “We soon realized that the
at a 20% plus annual rate, organic wine trade and the public demanded that we
sales have lagged. So it is a little go all the way. We started working
surprising to find some optimism with growers and put a program in
by producers of biodynamic wines, place in 2003. For the first time in
a category that would seem even more 2007, all of our grapes were certified
difficult to establish. However, parti- biodynamic or organic or sustainable.”
cipants and speakers at a Biodynamic But how does a BD wine differ from
Wine Forum held in San Francisco last an organic wine? The easy answer is
November were cautiously upbeat. that BD wines are a step beyond organic.
Mike Benziger, of Benziger Family Both kinds of producers reject the use
Vineyards, said 2007 was the ‘tipping of chemical fertilizers, pesticides,
point’ for biodynamic wines.
“Biodynamic wines are perceived by
the trade as very high quality wines on
a global level. Retailers and restaurants
» Biodynamic wines are not
a rich man’s game, but a
herbicides, fungicides or fumigants.
No hormones, antibiotics, growth
regulators or genetically modified
organisms can be used, the same as
are getting behind the wines in a big
way. However, they are a hand sell,” he
said. “We have found that retailers
committed farmer’s game.
Paul Dolan, winemaker
« with organic growers.
All clear so far, but when you get into
biodynamics, it becomes difficult if not
who are out on the floor selling the impossible to offer a brief definition.
wines are a big help.” That, though, the United States, a wine with sulfite Privately, some producers agree that
can be said about all wines. More to added cannot be labeled as fully organic. consumer confusion is only natural
the point, he continued that “those Instead, the label may only bear the when biodynamic viticulture involves
restaurants that feature fresh local mention that the wine is made from farming practices that seem downright
produce and really care about the food organically grown grapes. Wines made weird (see box for more information).
can be a huge help. They get what we without the addition of sulfites have An international organization called
are trying to do.” often been of uneven quality, especially Demeter is the major certifying agency
Benziger added, “To be honest, in the 1980s and early 1990s, when for biodynamic agriculture.
consumers are still somewhat many domestic winemakers were still Although there is plenty of paper-
confused by the nomenclature, what is learning to deal with the issue. work, certification is not just a matter
biodynamic, what is organic, but they Benziger agreed that the image of of filling in a few forms. It involves
are very sensitive now to environmental organic wines has been hurt by the a three year program following guide-
issues and biodynamic wines are seen quality of some wines. “With bio- lines related to cover crops, crop rota-
as a holistic and friendly approach to dynamic, however, we’ve got a chance tion and the protection and creation of
the earth.” to do it right and let the wine speak for wild spaces on the farm, as well as the
There is also some confusion over itself,” he said. “If you lose credibility use of certain biodynamic preparations.
the definition of an organic wine. In in dealing with environmental issues, The concept of biodynamic agriculture
Europe, producers are allowed to add like organic wines or biodynamic dates back to 1924 and comes from
sulfites to wine to enhance stability. In wines, it’s very difficult to recover it.” the work of Austrian philosopher
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ORGANIC FARMING
Rudolph Steiner. Demeter defines a SNAP DEFINITIONS
biodynamic farm as one that is
managed “as a living organism.” This Biodynamic
is not a very useful definition, as there • Create diversity on the farm, not monoculture.
are certainly conventional growers • Have a crop rotation program, between the vine rows and orchards.
who take very good care of their vines • Utilize the nine preparations which biodynamic followers believe enhance soil quality
as well. Beyond that, one must then set and stimulate plant life. They consist of mineral, plant, or animal manure extracts,
about defining the farm as a ‘living usually fermented and applied in small proportions to compost, manures, the soil, or
organism.’ It is, as a critic suggested, a directly onto plants, after dilution. They are numbered 500-508. The 500 preparation
definition that could equally well be (horn-manure) is made from cow manure (fermented in a cow horn that is buried in the
applied to the entire known universe. soil for six months through autumn and winter) and is used as a soil spray to stimulate
Confront the average wine consumer root growth and humus formation. The BD 501 preparation (horn-silica) is made from
with that definition and he or she powdered quartz, packed inside a cow horn and buried in the soil for six months
might well respond “That’s great. But through spring and summer, and applied as a foliar spray to stimulate and regulate
what does it have to do with the wine growth. The next six preparations, BD 502-507, are used in making compost, and
in the bottle?” include plant materials such as yarrow blossom, chamomile blossoms, stinging nettle,
Jim Fetzer, a member of the family oak bark, dandelion flowers and valerian flowers. Preparation 508 is made from the
that has pioneered both organics and horsetail plant and is used as a spray to suppress fungal disease.
biodynamics in California, was able • Incorporate animal life into the farm for food, pest and weed control. This can be done
to offer a little help. Fetzer is the by allowing chickens, for example, to range through the vineyards or having other
founder of Ceago Vinegarden in Lake barnyard animals on the farm and using their manure in the compost. Some farms turn
County in northern California, which sheep loose in the vineyards in winter.
he established after the Fetzer family • Work with the ‘forces of nature’, be they solar, lunar or cosmic, in timing viticultural
winery was sold to Brown-Forman. practices. Biodynamic producers are sensitive to charges of ‘witchcraft’ and voodoo
He briefly defined the basic principles science in regards to some of these practices, such as farming by a lunar calendar and
of biodynamic viticulture (see ‘snap burying a cow horn containing composted cow manure in the soil. Paul Dolan and
definitions’), then brought the concept others say it is time to ‘get beyond’ this when it comes to selling the wines. However,
into the modern wine market: “With such practices loom large in the biodynamic story (but not in the organic story) and
biodynamics, we show the authentic certainly make good copy. If pressed, most growers fall back on the formula: “I don’t
expression of terroir opposed to the know how it works, but it does,” and point to the general health of the vines and the
synthetic expression of conventional grapes. This, of course, is not going to satisfy the skeptic, nor should it. It seems that,
wines.” Without getting into a discussion like it or not, growers who choose the biodynamic system are simply going to have to
of what is an ‘authentic’ expression of grin and bear it.
terroir - can there be an ‘inauthentic’
Organic
expression of terroir? - critics of the
• No chemically synthesized fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides,
biodynamic approach claim with some
or fumigants
justification that such wines cannot be
• No hormones, antibiotics, growth regulators or genetically modified
identified in a blind tasting.
organisms (GMOs)
Who drinks biodynamic wine?
The wine consumer familiar with Is there a direct impact on sales believed that wine consumers are
the concept of terroir is likely a good because a wine is organic or bio-dynamic? interested in the biodynamic story.
potential customer for biodynamic “There are niche markets where organic “They don’t know quite what to make
wines, when given Jim Fetzer’s and biodynamic wines are going to do of it, but they do get caught up in the
definition. Today’s savvy wine drinkers better and those are the markets we tar- passion of biodynamics. Getting the
like to hear a story, and the story of get. The wine has to be good to begin word out is real pick and shovel. It’s
terroir is a popular one. “A true bio- with and competitive with conventional going out and telling the story to one
dynamic farm with all its diversity of wines so if the consumer is looking for a person at a time. And, it’s true, the
plant and animal life makes for an less manipulated, sustainable product, biodynamic story is much more
attractive and interesting story which then these wines can fit the bill,” complicated than the organic story.”
is what the press is looking for, Fetzer answered. Dolan, who now has his own line of
especially outside the wine press. It is Paul Dolan, who was the winemaker biodynamic and organic wines, Paul
another way of reaching the consumer at Fetzer Vineyards for many years, Dolan Wines, based in Mendocino
and hopefully educates them and leads working with both the Fetzer family County, is hardly a counter-culture
them to our product,” Fetzer said. and with Brown-Forman, said he poster boy. The current president
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1/08 MEININGER’S WBI
MARKETS ORGANIC FARMING
of the Wine Institute of California, he important as a kind of ‘seal of authority’
is a businessman who knows that he for consumers.
has to make a buck, but he also cares But in the end, the best ‘seal of
deeply about environmental issues. authority’ is the wine itself. Randall
“You have to be passionate to pull Grahm, no stranger to wine crusades,
people in. The great thing about bio- believes that biodynamic wines are the
dynamics is that you start operating in best way to represent terroir. At this
a different way. Biodynamics is not point, he is betting the farm on bio-
about technology. It’s about expanding dynamics, having sold his mass
our awareness of the land, about creating market Big House label to Constellation
a whole new view. I’ve learned that my Brands in order to concentrate on bio-
role is to listen to the land.” dynamic wines. Asked for his definition
of terroir, he answered, “Terroir is the
Biodynamics as marketing tool
ability of a site to solve its problems
The passion that Dolan, and others, and produce a wine that captures the
talked about might be hard to define
as a marketing tool, but it plays well
with today’s green consumer. Patti
Fetzer is Jim Fetzer’s sister and part
» People are very sensitive
to environmental issues and
place. Wine is a life force.”
Grahm believes that biodynamic
wines offer a chance to “have a different
conversation about wine, not just talk
of the family that founded Fetzer about points.”
biodynamic wines are perceived
Vineyards in the 1960s. She sees
Patianna Vineyards, her biodynamic
vineyard and winery in Mendocino
County, as simply a logical develop-
as pro-environment. «
Mike Benziger, winemaker
The question is, will consumers
want to participate in that ‘different
conversation’? Or will they stick to
conventional wine chatter? I
ment of the organic movement of the
1960s and 1970s in California. yard. Also, year to year costs vary BY THE NUMBERS
“It all goes back to your beliefs. It is depending on whether growers make
The Organic Trade Association
simply the right thing to do,” she said, their own sprays and compost or buy
(OTA) estimates that organic food
referring to biodynamic farming. “I specially prepared organic and biody-
sales totaled $16.9b (€11.5b) in
think that because we feel strongly namic products (see box).
2006, the last year for which com-
about biodynamics, it inspires the Mike Benziger pointed out that
plete figures are available. That
growers and the producers as well as many of the labor intensive viticultur- represents about 3% of all retail
the distributors.” al techniques, such as canopy manage- food and beverage sales and shows
One question that keeps coming up ment, leaf pulling and weed control a growth rate of 22.1% over 2005.
is the issue of cost: organic and bio- add to farming costs but are also Organic wine sales are growing at a
dynamic wines do cost more than used in conventional grape growing, slower pace. (The OTA does not
conventional wines. Or do they? at least by growers who are intent distinguish between organic wines
Dolan and others argue that the on producing a superior crop. In and wines made from organic
retail price of organic or biodynamic short, this means that most organic grapes.) According to OTA numbers,
wines is in line with the price of equal wines are priced in relation to wine organic wine sales were about
quality wines grown by conventional quality based on superior vineyards $90m in 2006, a 13% increase over
farming practices. “We don’t charge and intensive labor. the $80m recorded in 2005. Sales
more for our wines because they are In the end, the only additional costs are expected to reach $100m for
organic,” Dolan said. “We set the price incurred to farm organically or bio- 2007. Total US wine sales in 2007
based on the quality of the wine.” dynamically are those of certification, are expected to top $28b.
Indeed, Dolan prices his biodynamic which are based on a per acre charge
By 2007, California Certified Organic
wines in the $30s (€20), hardly expen- and can vary. Certification for both
Farmers (CCOF) had certified 9,240
sive when matched against run-of-the- organic and biodynamic production
acres of organic vineyards in
press Napa or Sonoma Chardonnay must be done every year. This involves
California, out of a total of more than
selling in the $40s and $50s. soil testing for traces of chemical
550,000 acres. (Organic acreage
Jim Fetzer said the initial cost of fertilizers or pesticides, checking outside California is insignificant.)
starting to farm organically or bio- records for application of compost and There are an estimated 1,500 acres
dynamically might range between 10% other preparations and checking the of biodynamic vineyards, either
and 20% more than conventional farming overall health of the vineyards. Most certified or in transition.
but that would depend on the vine- producers believe the certification is
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