Wine · Terminology
Biodynamic
Organic farming plus a lunar calendar and nine prepared field sprays, following Rudolf Steiner.
Biodynamic viticulture is organic farming with an added philosophical layer, derived from a 1924 lecture series by the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. It treats the farm as a single self-sustaining organism, works to a lunar and astrological calendar, and uses nine numbered preparations — the famous one being 500, cow manure fermented over winter in a buried cow horn, then diluted and stirred (dynamised) before spraying.
Everything organic certification requires — no synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers — biodynamics requires too. The extra layer is what people argue about.
In practice
- Preparations 500–508: horn manure, horn silica, and six compost preparations made from yarrow, chamomile, nettle, oak bark, dandelion and valerian.
- The calendar divides days into root, leaf, flower and fruit, guiding when to prune, spray, rack and even taste.
- Certification comes from Demeter (international) or Biodyvin (a French wine-specific body); both audit, and both take three years.
- Copper and sulfur remain permitted for mildew, as in organics — the same environmental criticism applies.
Where you'll meet it
- Some of the most admired estates in France — in Burgundy, the Loire and Alsace especially.
- The viticultural practices guide.
- Alongside, but distinct from, natural wine.
Organic, biodynamic, natural
| Organic | Biodynamic | Natural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vineyard | No synthetic inputs | Organic + preparations + calendar | Usually organic, often uncertified |
| Cellar | Regulated (EU organic wine rules) | Regulated by Demeter/Biodyvin | The main focus: minimal intervention |
| Certification | Yes, statutory | Yes, private | No legal definition |
| Sulfites | Capped | Capped lower | Minimal or none |
The common confusion: biodynamics is primarily a farming system, natural wine primarily a cellar philosophy. A wine can be either, both or neither.
Does it work?
Honest answer: the farming works, the metaphysics is unproven.
Trials consistently show biodynamic vineyards with better soil biology and biodiversity than conventional ones — but so do organic vineyards, and controlled comparisons between organic and biodynamic rarely separate them. The preparations are used in homeopathic quantities, and no accepted mechanism explains a cosmic effect.
What is not in dispute is that biodynamics demands close, repeated attention to each parcel. Many practitioners, including sceptical ones, think that attention is the active ingredient.
Related terms
- Natural wine — the cellar-side cousin
- Viticulture — the wider discipline
- Terroir — the idea it appeals to