Biodynamic in Bordeaux

Château Clos Systey. Demeter is the certifying body for Biodynamic farming.

On a recent weekend trip to Bordeaux, I visited four châteaux and two of them were certified biodynamic: Château Ferrière in Margaux and Château Clos Systey in Saint-Émilion.

Biodynamic is a term many of us are familiar with but what does it actually mean?

At its core, it relies on organic winemaking principles. In fact, your vineyard must be certified organic before you can apply to be certified biodynamic.

The core features of organic viticulture are:

- The application of compost - increasing biomass in the soil

- The use of natural fertilisers - such as manure to restore nutrient balance in the soil

- The cultivation of cover crops - to prevent erosion of the soil and improve biodiversity

- The reduction of monoculture - again, improves biodiversity

Biodynamic calendar

Biodynamic farming goes a step (or should I say, a staircase) further and depends on the idea that the soil, the solar system and human intervention is all intertwined. It incorporates philosophical and cosmological ideas to produce special calendars, which help indicate the best days for farmers to carry out certain activities based on four different parts of the plant - root, leaf, flower or fruit.

For example, sap rises when the moon is ascending, which evokes a 'summer mood' and therefore this is a good time to take cuttings. When the moon is descending, this evokes a 'winter mood' where root activities like planting should take place.

Biodynamic farmers use 'preparations' to fertilise and improve the life of the soil. These preparations are homeopathic solutions made from natural ingredients like quartz, cow horn, chamomile and nettle. The recipes for these preparations are exact. For example, preparation 501 (horn silica) involves filling cow horns with quartz and burying these in the ground for six months. When they are retrieved from the ground, they are dynamised, which involves spinning them in water until a vortex is created. The vortex 'chaos' is disrupted and the water is spun in the other direction. This process can last for an hour and can be done by hand or machine. The idea is that the water retains the 'memory' of the beneficial preparation, which can then be sprayed on to the plant.

Preparation ingredients on show at Château Ferrière

I was so excited to have a proper introduction into this way of making wine and the lovely Fanny Dulong of Clos Systey even showed us the dynamising process, as she explained she likes to do it early in the morning as a form of quiet meditation. It sounds idyllic but I suspect it's very hard work!