French Wine Adventure Essentials

I couldn’t resist. When I saw the name on the map, I had to double-check and make sure it was really true. Wow, seriously, people actually called a town “condom”? This is awesome! I have to make it my first stop. It’s only located a few hours south of Bordeaux, and the pure comedic value of claiming I’ve been to Condom, France is worth the extra hour it tacks onto my first day.

Welcome to Condom, France!

I had lunch at a local bakery in Condom, and dug up a few bits of information while chatting with some energetic locals:

Contrary to popular belief the condom was not invented in Condom, France.

In fact, according to my bakery friends, Condom doesn’t even sell condoms in their stores. There are a handful of stores in Condom and they only sell local produce and locally manufactured commodities. My gut questions these statements, but Jean Michel, a friendly old gentleman with a limp, stands by his word. He also mentioned these circumstances, have led to high adolescent pregnancy rates and a serious business opportunity.

Condom also means nothing in French, they call a Jimmy hat a preservative.

I wish I had more time to go condom hunting in Condom, but I need to make it to my camping spot for a big day tomorrow.

Ciao!

Biodynamic Cow Horn Prep

Biodynamic Journey

I started working for a biodynamic winery in California after college, and my desire to learn more about the origins and philosophy behind this fascinating practice was born. During my wine MBA studies, I have backpacked around the world with a video camera, a wine glass and a thirst for knowledge about biodynamic farming. From Biodynamic prep seminars with Peter Proctor in New Zealand to Biodynamic compost lessons from Nicholas Joly in France, I’ve dedicated my travels to learning more about biodynamic viticulture in different areas of the world and it’s benefits in the wine industry. I’ve also read Steiner’s painfully boring literature along with other case studies on biodynamics and focused my wine MBA thesis on cost to quality ratios between organic and biodynamic viticulture.

Below is a brief summary of my learnings. If you would like more details about anything or are interested in learning more about biodynamics please email me at dannyfay@gmail.com or leave a comment at the bottom of the page. Cheers!

Biodynamic Basics

Rudy striking a model pose!

Biodynamic agriculture is an advanced organic farming system, developed from eight lectures on agriculture given in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), an Austrian scientist and philosopher, to a group of farmers near Breslau, Germany (Diver, 2010). Steiner gave a series of lectures entitled Spiritual foundations for the renewal of agriculture, with instructions on how to produce organic food supplying spiritual forces to mankind (Kirchmann et al., 2008). The Agriculture Course lectures were taught by Steiner in response to observations from farmers that soils were becoming depleted following the introduction of chemical fertilizers at the turn of the century. In addition to degraded soil conditions, farmers noticed a deterioration in the health and quality of crops and livestock (Diver, 2010).

According to Steiner, a biodynamic farm is viewed holistically as a living, self-contained system that functions in concert with the wider world within which it lives. Each farm’s goal is to be a self-sustaining entity responsible for its health and wellbeing without outside additions. It is the antithesis of commercial industrialized farming. Emphasis is placed on the integration of crops and livestock, recycling of nutrients, maintenance of soil, and the health and well being of crops and animals; the farmer too is part of the whole. Thinking about the interactions within the farm ecosystem naturally leads to a series of holistic management practices that address the environmental, social, and financial aspects of the farm (Diver, 2010). A biodynamic farmer has to intimately understand the rhythms of the farm, the dynamics of its location, soil structure, weather patterns, water needs, and overall strength and weaknesses (Sonya, 2010). Essentially, biodynamic farmers recognize there are forces that influence biological systems other than gravity, chemistry, and physics.

Biodiversity & Balance

“Biodynamic farming aims to generate fertility and health from within the farming system,” Demeter-USA Executive Director Jim Fullmer said. Like organic farming, biodynamics prohibits synthetic chemicals inputs such as fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides and does not use genetically modified seed (Benziger, 2009). Composting, particularly done on site, is the foundation of the system and biodiversity is the lifeblood (Sonya, 2010).

Biodynamic Vineyards use plants to attract "good" insects to kill "bad" insects, instead of pesticides

In a nutshell, biodynamics can be understood as a combination of “biological dynamic” agriculture practices. “Biological” practices include a series of well-known organic farming techniques that improve soil health. “Dynamic” practices are intended to influence biological as well as metaphysical aspects of the farm (such as increasing vital life force), or to adapt the farm to natural rhythms (such as planting seeds during certain lunar phases) (Diver, 2010).

Biodynamic Preparations

What sets biodynamics apart is the use of homeopathic “medicines” or “teas” called preparations, in addition to the biodynamic calendar that charts astronomical cycles and their relationship to the sun, moon and planets. Each preparation is composed of natural ingredients, such as quartz or chamomile that is incorporated into the farm through compost or water. The calendar, in turn, is a guideline recommending the optimal times to perform certain duties such as planting and harvesting. The preps, in conjunction with calendar, are meant to enliven the energetic forces already in play through good farming practices on the farm (Sonya, 2010).

Prue Henschke at her Biodynamic Compost Pits In Barossa, Australia

The original biodynamic (BD) preparations are numbered 500 to 508 (Sonya, 2010). The BD 500 preparation (horn-manure) is made from cow manure (fermented in a cow horn that is buried in the soil for six months through autumn and winter) and is used as a soil spray to stimulate root growth and humus formation (Sonya, 2010). The BD 501 prepartion (horn-silica) is made from powdered quartz (packed inside a cow horn and buried in the soil for sex months through spring and summer) and applied as a foliar spray to stimulate and regulate growth (Sonya, 2010).

Biodynamic Preps

The next six preparations, BD 502-507, are used in making compost (Sonya, 2010). All of the compost preparations, with the exception of 507, are buried individually in a compost pile in holes about 19 inches deep (Proctor, 2010). All the holes should be within six and a half feet of one another (Proctor, 2010). Preparation 507 is stirred into a gallon or so of water and then sprayed over the top of the compost pile (Proctor, 2010). Biodynamic preparations are inteded to help moderate and regulate biological processes as well as enhance and strengthen the life (etheric) forces on the farm. The prepartions are used in homeopathic quantities, meaning they produce an effect in extremely diluted amounts. As an example, just 1/16^th of an ounce (approximately a teaspoon) of each compost preparation is added to 7-10 ton piles of compost (Diver, 2010).

Biodynamic Preps 502-507 from Peter Proctor's BD prep lesson in New Zealand

If this sounds a lot like homeopathy, in a way it is. The concepts are very similar to one another, they involve theories that science can’t even measure. Pest control is even more similar, the offending pest is burned and then the ashes scattered on the fields during specific periods of time (Steiner, 1924). Steiner also believed that the full moon, Venus, and Mercury influenced the fertility of living creatures, so pest control was a matter of blocking the fertility influences of those celestial bodies on the specified pest. Any angle you look at biodynamics, the concept is very strange, but then there are some aspects that could make sense.

Preparing the 501 prep at Cape Jaffa Winery in Australia

Cover Crops and Green Manures

Cover crops play a central role in managing cropland soils in biological farming systems. Biodynamic farmers make use of cover crops for dynamic accumulation of soil nutrients, nematode control, soil loosening, and soil building in addition to the commonly recognized benefits of cover crops like soil protection and nitrogen fixation. Biodynamic farmers also make special use of plants like phacelia, rapeseed, mustard, and oilseed radish in addition to common cover crops like rye and vetch. Cover crop strategies include undersowing and catch cropping as well as winter cover crops and summer green manures (Diver, 2010).

Green manuring is a biological farming practice that receives special attention on the biodynamic farm. Green manuring involves the soil incorporation of any field or forage crop while green, or soon after flowering, for the purpose of soil improvement. The decomposition of green manures in soils parallels the composting process in that distinct phases of organic matter breakdown and humus buildup are moderated by microbes. Many biodynamic farmers, especially those who follow the guidelines established by Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, spray the green residue with a microbial inoculant prior to plow down. The inoculant contains a mixed culture of microorganisms that help speed decomposition, thereby reducing the time until planting. In addition, the inoculant enhances formation of the clay-humus crumb which provides numerous exchange sites for nutrients and improves soil structure.

Crop Rotations and Companion Planting

Crop rotation (the sequential planting of crops) is honed to a fine level in biodynamic farming. A fundamental concept of crop rotation is the effect of different crops on the land. Koepf, Pettersson, and Schaumann speak about “humus-depleting” and “humus-restoring” crops; “soil- exhausting” and “soil-restoring” crops; and “organic matter exhausting” and “organic matter restoring” crops in different sections of Bio-Dynamic Agriculture: An Introduction. If you have time to read this book, it’s a great foundation.

Companion planting, a specialized form of crop rotation commonly used in biodynamic gardening, entails the planned association of two or more plant species in close proximity so that some cultural benefit (pest control, higher yield) is derived (Diver, 2010). In addition to beneficial associations, companion planting increases biodiversity on the farm which leads to a more stable ecosystem. Surprisingly, most of these techniques have been lost in today’s farming world.

Planetary Influences

According to Steiner, lunar and astrological cycles play a key role in the timing of biodynamic practices, such as the making of BD preparations and when to plant and cultivate (Steiner, 1924). Recognition of celestial influences on plant growth are part of the biodynamic awareness that subtle energy forces affect biological systems (Steiner, 1924). For the last 23 years, Brian Keats has published an astrological calendar for the southern hemisphere based on theories developed by Maria Thun in 1956 (Thun 2000). Thun hypothesised that crop quality and yield could be directly affected by timing agricultural activities according to lunar position relative to the twelve zodiacal constellations (Thun 2000). The constellations were grouped according to four different ‘elements’: Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Crops were classified as Root, Leaf, Flower or Fruit crops, respectively according to these elements. When a crop was sown at a time which corresponded with a certain position of its element’s constellation in relation to the moon, yields were purported to increase comparative to other planting times. Such calendars are supposed to give indications of when best to perform agricultural activities such as planting, picking, and spraying (Keats, 2009).

A review of evidence for these lunar-sidereal rhythms was conducted recently, and it was found that “‘lunar factors’ may have a practical significance for agriculture” (Kollerstrom & Staudenmaier 2001). The lunar and astrological methodology remains scientifically untested (Smith & Douglass 2006), but overwhelming anecdotal evidence from some the world’s greatest viticulturists and winemakers suggest planting, harvesting and vine maintenance with lunar calendars proves extremely beneficial.

More recently, the public eye has turned toward the possible impact of lunar movements on wine flavour, with major supermarket chains in the United Kingdom adopting tasting policies based on Thun’s calendar (BBC, 2009). The science behind the theory has yet to be tested, and temperature, pressure differences, subjectivity or suggestibility are among possible other factors here for the differences in wines tasted on different days that have yet to be explored.

Biodynamics Summary

Biodynamics uses scientifically sound organic farming practices that build and sustain soil productivity as well as plant and animal health (Proctor, 2010). However, the philosophical tenets of biodynamics especially those that emphasize energetic forces and astrological influences are harder to grasp, yet they are part and parcel of the biodynamic experience.

That mainstream agriculture does not accept the subtle energy tenets of biodynamic agriculture is a natural result of conflicting paradigms. In mainstream agriculture the focus is on physical- chemical-biological reality. Biodynamic agriculture, on the other hand, recognizes the existence of subtle energy forces in nature and promotes their expression through specialized “dynamic” practices.

The fact remains that biodynamic farming is practiced on a commercial scale in many countries and is gaining wider recognition for its contributions to organic farming, food quality, community supported agriculture, and qualitative tests for soils and composts. From a practical viewpoint biodynamics is proven to be productive and yield nutritious, high quality foods.

Today, there are 4,200 biodynamic growers and producers in 43 countries from Germany to South Korea (Sonya, 2010). In the United States, that number is about 200 and growing, still a tiny percentage of the two million remaining farms left in the United States, of which 14,000 are certified organic, according to the U.S. Agricultural Census. Demeter International is the global certification organization that oversees the country certifiers to ensure strict upholding of requirements and regulations. Fullmer says, ‘We at Demeter-USA uphold a base minimum of international standards and then many countries move beyond that, which is what we do here in the United States. That is why in any given country you only find one biodynamic certifier and it has been that way for close to a 100 years” (Sonya, 2010).

Biodynamic prep burials

Biodynamic > Organic ?

While biodynamics parallels organic farming in many ways, especially with regard to cultural and biological farming practices, it is set apart from other organic agriculture systems by its association with the spiritual science of anthroposophy founded by Steiner, and in its emphasis on farming practices intended to achieve balance between the physical and higher, non-physical realms; to acknowledge the influence of cosmic and terrestrial forces; and to enrich the farm, its products, and its inhabitants with life energy (Diver, 2010). These esoteric principles and the fact no biodynamic viticulture studies have ever been published in a peer reviewed science journal, create a lot of skeptics. Many organic viticulturists believe biodynamics is a marketing scheme and hoax, and need to find out if there is a correlation between biodynamic and organic production costs and quality.

Hope you enjoyed the reading, please let me know if you have any questions if you’re looking to learn more about biodynamics or use biodynamic viticulture. Bibliography available upon request.

Fear the Beard!

I’m 25% British, 25% Welsh, and 50% Irish. I’m not 100% sure where I get my “I grow a lot of hair” gene, I’m just thankful it’s not Irish red. Just kidding, I love my Irish genes. When I tell people I drink 2 glasses of red wine a day, and they give me the ‘Jesus, you’re an alcoholic look’, I tell them I’m half Irish, and all of sudden I get a light hearted chuckle, and a pat on the back. Either way you look at it, I’m formed from copious amounts of European decent, it’s a cold climate up here, and body hair acts like a natural blanket of warmth.

My girlfriend gets out of the shower and sees me having a stare off with my beard.

Sophie: Babe, what are you doing?

Me: My face looks like it just had a head on collision with a squirrel, I’m going to attempt to shave, but I’m trying to figure out the best strategy.

Sophie: You act like you are going to have surgery.

Me: Have you ever shaved your face?

Sophie fires a look of disgust at my comment while I focus on my artillery. Hhmmm…bit of a predicament.

Which weapon to choose?

It’s like being on the front lines at Gettysburg and I have the pleasure of choosing to fight with a butter knife or a soup laydel. Seriously, these are my last 2 blades and both are completely dull. That green/white strip you see starts as a completely blinding neon green color, and fades to white through each shave. Instead of the neon green color fading to a plain white, I always thought it would be funny to have a message that begins to appear as the blade wears down. Something like “Dude, you’ve got balls if you shave with this dull blade” or “Are you fu”king crazy man! This blade is dull as sh%t”.

Typically, you can get 3 to 4 solid shaves out of each blade, depending on your strategy. I’m up to about 8 with each of these blades, because I hate buying replacements! In fact, the shaving blade monopoly that has transpired really chaps my ass. I challenge you to find me a pack of Gillette Mach3 blades of 6 for less than $20, these simple pieces of metal are costing a fortune. It’s monopolies like these that should be the first order of business on the next presidential campaign discussions. How can we fight against these greedy bastards? They know us hairy men need then, and they know we have to pay whatever they ask!

According to 97.8% of women, men can’t go unshaven anymore! They need to maintain, not only facial hair, but other bodily regions too! Women want smooth skin to rub up on nowadays, and it’s bullshit if you ask me. I don’t mind maintaining the speedo line, but I’m done shaving my chest!!!

Back when it was cool to have hair!

In fact, I have a dream!!!!!!!! Just as bellbottom jeans and sideways pony tails of the 80′s have made a comeback, I dream the hair driven masculinity of that era will make a comeback too! A vision where chest hair is once again acceptable and appreciated. A vision where women drop their jaws upon visual recognition of a consistent flow of manhood through the top of an open shirt button. It will not only prevent expensive monopolies on shaving blades, it will replace the dignity that many hairy men have lost in shaving and aiming to please the opposite sex.

We can use “The Hoff” as our spokesman and lead these revolution just as Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have done! That is what they are revolting against right?

This being said, I went with the blade on the left, and decided to blend in with a French mustache. According to Vegas betting odds, the french mustache addition has seen considerable bets sway towards “Marrying a French woman” and “Getting shot at by a stranger for camping on his property.” Let’s see how this trip pans out! Feedback welcome!

Voila! The French Mustache

Get shot at by angry French farmer for camping in his field:                                                            8/1

Marry a French woman:                                                                                                                         5/2

Get lost and go in opposite direction for over 100 KMs (60 miles):                                                 4/1

Run out of money and have to beg for food:                                                                                        2/1

Motorcycle breaks down:                                                                                                                        6/1

Pulled over my police, they find out I don’t have insurance and I get arrested:                              5/1

This wine adventure will be challenging, I only have €308 to get me around France, on a motorcycle that tops out at 100 KMPH (62 MPH) and I don’t speak a lot of French. However, I do have a sweet speedo, which I plan to sport if any hitchhiking attire is needed.

60% of the time it works every time

“Adventure should be structured enough to keep your sanity, but unstructured enough to promote insanity”

As with most things in life, the best things come in a balance. Adventure is a balance of an odyssey and a trip, but shouldn’t lean towards either for more than a split second. A trip is something I can’t stand. A trip is a planned, structured itinerary about every second of every day, usually run by the most meticulously anal person in the group. An odyssey is the other end of the spectrum, consisting of a journey that has no end in sight, no real direction and no real purpose. An adventure is far more odyssey than trip, but it allows for the events to steer the ship. An adventure has a direction, but there are no commitments made, no deadlines to beat, it’s a free flowing excursion that lives on the culture, the people and the events that occur.

This being said, I’ll lay out my gameplan.

Direction: Start in Bordeaux (June 7th) End in Bordeaux (Around June 20th)

French Wine Adventure Route? Not 100% sure

Mission: To explore the French Wine World

Objective: To vist and learn more about the people, wines and culture of Loire, Champagne, Burgundy, Rhone, and Languadoc-Roussillon. To meet people like this:

I want to meet people like this!

What I’m going to bring:

2 video cameras (1 Sony HDR-XR150 & 1 Canon HFS10)

1 Cell Phone (+33) 06 42 84 77 97 (Give me a call or text to say hello

1 Laptop (13″ Macbook Pro)

1 pair of shorts, 2 pair of pants, 4 t-shirts, 4 underwear, 4 pair of socks, 1 hat, 1 pair of gloves, 1 speedo

1 tent, 1 sleeping bag, 1 sleeping pad

1 toothbrush, 1 toothpaste, 1 deodorant, 1 soap, 1 shampoo, 5 carbon pills

1 compass, 1 map of France, 1 French dictionary,

What I need:

Encouragement through comments, texts and emails!

Contacts in France that might let me crash on their front lawn or can offer me a warm soup or cup of tea?

Cheers! Stay tuned

Danny

Trying to Blend in?

I’ve hit a frustrating patch. Nothing is going my way, I’m a bit lost for direction. I’m trying to make the right decisions, but obstacles and misfortunes keep holding me down. I’m a good person, but I need to accept life will never treat you fairly. I suppose if I look at my problems in the big scheme of things, they are quite pathetic. People in this world are starving, dying, being tortured, crying because they just lost the most important person in their life.

I suppose the extremes of life’s emotions get bigger as life goes on, though.

As a child your tears are produced over the ice cream you dropped. As an adolescent you cry about striking out on a pitch outside the strike zone. As a young professional you start stressing with life’s dilemmas and day to day chokeholds known as bills, mortages, taxes, insurances, etc. Then as you grow old you cry as you lose your family, your mother, your father, your mentors, your friends, and at some point, your life partner.

It’s cruel how this system works, which is why I need to appreciate every second of the good times in my life. I’m lucky to have the few things I have. I may not own a lot of things, but I feel like I do. I’m also lucky for the people I have in my life, they are what matters most if you step back and view things holistically.

My haircut is shit, but at least I have hair. At least I had money to get a haircut, and at least I could walk in and out of the barber under my own power.

Lesson of the day is to appreciate the things you often ignore.
Cheers,

Danny

Let’s get you up to date:

Agriculture has been a method of survival for over 10,000 years, and most of it through the labor of human sweat and animals. It wasn’t until the late 19th century and early 20th century, with the help of mechanical equipment (i.e. tractors), did agriculture increase in productivity. With the advancement of railways, highways and boats, logistics became more efficient, and agricultural products were soon distributed on a global scale.

Pre Industrial Agriculture on the Nile River

At the beginning of the 20th century, scientists discovered nitrogen fixation. Ammonia (NH3) is the key nutrient that plant roots take from the soil, giving plants vitality. However, plants can’t absorb this directly from soil, but bacteria can. The traditional way to add more nitrogen into the soil was: feed a cow hay, have the cow shit, put the nitrogen rich poop back into the soil, allow bacteria to break down the nitrogen and the plant will absorb it. Genius cycle, right? Yes, but way too slow. Enter scientists. Using temperature and pressure, scientists Fritz Haber & Carl Bosch produced Ammonia identical to that the bacteria makes. Considered by some to be the most important invention of the 20th century, these chaps were awarded a few nobel prizes, and in 1913 they started a chemical company, IG-Farben.

However, before Haber & Bosch’s discovery became popular with Ron the farmer, power hungry leaders of European countries figured out Ammonium Nitrate makes a great ingredient for a bomb. Hence, Ammonium Nitrate became mass produced for weapons and warfare during WWI. Towards the end of the war, there became a surplus of Ammonium Nitrate, and it was discarded into the fields and country side. Months later “explosive”, vibrant growth and vegetation appeared. The results looked obviously healthy for the plant, and Haber & Bosch began mass producing agricultural fertilizers. Shortly afterwards, IG-Farben became the largest chemical company in the world.

There efforts significantly affected the world’s food supply and population, pushing the approx. figure from 1.6 Billion to today’s 6.7 Billion. No other invention of the past 200 years has had such an impact on our planet, neither cars, spaceship or computers.

Nearly one century after its invention, the process is still applied all over the world to produce 500 million tons of artificial fertilizer per year, 1% of the world’s energy supply is used for it (M.D. Fryzuk, 2002), and it still sustains roughly 40% of the population (M. D. Fryzuk, 2004). Billions of people would not exist without chemical fertilizers.

As important as this invention may seem, was it really a good thing? Today’s soils are becoming more depleted than ever, and there are even traces of fertilizers in the produce we consume, and human embryos.

Our soils are just as important as the air we breath, and the sunlight we bask in, but we seem to forget this.

Why are soils important?

It is the richness of life in the soil which will feed the plants, because a plant, like a vine, does not directly use the nutritive elements in the Earth. Vines use a double strategy to feed, which involves both leaves and roots. The leaves are approximately responsible for 95-98%, with the remaining 2-5% provided by the roots. What’s interesting though, is the collection and absorption of minerals from the soil is not carried out directly by the roots but by the intervention of auxiliary organisms, called symbiotic fungi (mycorrhiza), which in exchange for receiving juices from the roots, give the plant the minerals they collect (Nitrogen, Potassium, etc.) When adding soluble fertilizers, especially potassium rich fertilizers to the soils, it depletes these beneficial fungi.

Another disadvantage of fertilizers is that they are a salt based compound. When you apply a fertilizer to a vineyard, it’s like sprinkling crystalized salt on your vines. Once it rains, or water is applied, the salt crystals dissolve, and the vine picks up the nutrients. The problem occurs when you have hot vines, sunbathing during the summer months, you add fertilizers and the vines become very thirsty, just as humans become thirsty when they consume salts. Once water is obtained, either artificially through drip systems or organically through the soil or rain, the vine becomes less balanced, pushes more water into it’s fruit, which tightens the bunches, creates a weaker skin wall, and the fruit and vine becomes more susceptible to disease.

Spraying Chemicals

These are just a few of the problems that fertilizers cause, but the bottom line is inorganic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides deplete nutrients in the soil, disrupt the natural rhythms and cycles of the vine, and are using tomorrow’s land for today’s crop.

Through the past several decades, farmers and activists have formed groups abstaining from chemicals, and an organic farming movement has transpired known as sustainable agriculture.

Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is characterized by a systems perspective of stewardship of the natural and human resources; it comprises three goals: environmental health, economic profitability, as well as social and economic equity (Mityr, Smith, Zucca, 2009).

There are three categories of sustainable farming methods; sustainable, organic and biodynamic. Mike Benziger, winemaker at Benziger Family Winery, says sustainable farming is a voluntary practice, “It’s really up to the grower to police himself, and it’s up to his honesty and his integrity. There is no reason he can’t use chemicals one day and the next day go back to his sustainable practices. It’s just not regulated by anyone. Organic farming is a step in the right direction. Organics focus on the elimination of synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, with special attention paid to the health of the soil. Biodynamics is a much higher form of organic farming, that uses holistic approaches such as lunar and solar cycles to invite the environment to produce the product.”

Organic Agriculture:

“Organic‟ essentially describes the farming practices used, referring to a system using organic manure which largely excludes synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, chemicals or growth promoters of any type, including hormones and antibiotics (Gil, 2000). From the beginning of the conventional farming movement, critics pointed out the unnaturalness of these chemicals and regarded their use as a wrong way to produce food (Kirchmann et al., 2008). Many farmers were told the use of these chemicals will provide more food and money for their families, but the practical farmer knows that instinct coupled with sober judgement and experience can achieve a great deal, very often more than abstract knowledge (Koepf, 1976).

Organic Certification

Throughout the last two decades, many studies have shown that organic farming provides better soil health and is superior to conventional farming with chemicals such as fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides (Gray, 2010). Most recently, a study of nine farms in England, published in the journal, Environmental Microbiology, found that organic farms have a much more diverse range of fungi living in the soil than on conventional farms. Dr. Christopher Van Der Gas, of the CEH, said that use of herbicides and pesticides, as well as constant tilling of the soil breaks down the fungi on intensive farms (Gray, 2010). Dr. Gas also says, “On organic farms….there is a more diverse range of microbes living in the soil. This helps the crops grow without the expense of artificial fertilizers. For most people it is about what you can see above the ground. But the below ground diversity of the organisms in are also key.”

Biodynamic Agriculture

Biodynamic agriculture is an advanced organic farming system, developed from eight lectures on agriculture given in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), an Austrian scientist and philosopher, to a group of farmers near Breslau, Germany (Diver, 2010). Steiner gave a series of lectures entitled Spiritual foundations for the renewal of agriculture, with instructions on how to produce organic food supplying spiritual forces to mankind (Kirchmann et al., 2008). The Agriculture Course lectures were taught by Steiner in response to observations from farmers that soils were becoming depleted following the introduction of chemical fertilizers at the turn of the century. In addition to degraded soil conditions, farmers noticed a deterioration in the health and quality of crops and livestock (Diver, 2010).

Biodynamic Vineyard

A biodynamic farm is viewed holistically as a living, self-contained system that functions in concert with the wider world within which it lives. Each farm’s goal is to be a self-sustaining entity responsible for its health and wellbeing without outside additions. It is the antithesis of commercial industrialized farming (Sonya, 2010). Emphasis is placed on the integration of crops and livestock, recycling of nutrients, maintenance of soil, and the health and well being of crops and animals; the farmer too is part of the whole. Thinking about the interactions within the farm ecosystem naturally leads to a series of holistic management practices that address the environmental, social, and financial aspects of the farm (Diver, 2010). A biodynamic farmer has to intimately understand the rhythms of the farm, the dynamics of its location, soil structure, weather patterns, water needs, and overall strength and weaknesses (Sonya, 2010). Biodynamic farmers recognize there are forces that influence biological systems other than gravity, chemistry, and physics (Diver, 2010).

“Biodynamic farming aims to generate fertility and health from within the farming system,” Demeter-USA Executive Director Jim Fullmer said. Like organic farming, biodynamics prohibits synthetic chemicals inputs such as fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides and does not use genetically modified seed (Benziger, 2009). Composting, particularly done on site, is the foundation of the system and biodiversity is the lifeblood (Sonya, 2010).

Biodynamic Cow Horns

In a nutshell, biodynamics can be understood as a combination of “biological dynamic” agriculture practices. “Biological” practices include a series of well-known organic farming techniques that improve soil health. “Dynamic” practices are intended to influence biological as well as metaphysical aspects of the farm (such as increasing vital life force), or to adapt the farm to natural rhythms (such as planting seeds during certain lunar phases) (Diver, 2010).

What sets biodynamics apart is the use of homeopathic “medicines” or “teas” called preparations, in addition to the biodynamic calendar that charts astronomical cycles and their relationship to the sun, moon and planets. Each preparation is composed of natural ingredients, such as quartz or chamomile that is incorporated into the farm through compost or water.

Stay tuned for an explanation of the preparations, calendar and cycles influencing biodynamic viticulture as I travel around France to learn more. 

Cheers!

Danny

As a student, I seek knowledge. As a wine lover, I seek quality. However, how do you define quality in a subjective playing field? Traveling through 4 continents, 16 countries, 100 wine regions and almost a thousand wines, the last 18 months has taught me “quality” can be defined in many different ways.

From exploding, Australian shiraz that hit you like a Mike Tyson uppercut to refined German rieslings that cue tap dancing ballerinas on your tongue; quality comes in all colors and mouthfeel. After learning to appreciate wines of different styles from different regions, I returned to the thought of what I was truly seeking in a wine. To an extent it revolves around quality. The wine needs to say “hello” during the initial sip, and evoke an interest. The acidity needs to be balanced, and the wine’s finish needs to linger, keeping me intrigued like the woman who keeps glancing over at me with the cheeky grin and mysterious eyes.

But what am I really looking for in a wine?

I’m really looking for a wine to be unflawed, and to represent it’s own personality and where it comes from; that’s all I’m looking for. I don’t want to taste a Cab from Chile that tastes like a Cab from Napa. I don’t want to taste a Pinot from Central Otago that tastes like a pinot from Russian River. I want to taste a wine that expresses the hillside it calls home, and the soil it worked so hard to penetrate.

During my travels, Chris Benziger, owner of Benziger Family Winery in Sonoma, California, gave me a great piece of advice; A well made wine reveals four fingerprints:

1) The character of the varietal

2) The character of the place

3) The character of the vintage

4) The passion of the people who made the wine

These fingerprints of character and passion are the foundation of the kind of wines I’m looking to enjoy, and the expressions of these wines are generally found in wines that are farmed organically or biodynamically.

Currently there are 4 general categories of viticulture practices:

Conventional farming: Farming methods that use a variety of sprays and chemicals, preventing a vine from truly expressing itself.

Sustainable farming: A farming method that is a bullshit term. Business are calling themselves “sustainable” to sound more environmentally friendly, when really it means they use chemicals on and off, and don’t have a 3rd party keeping an eye on them.

Organic farming: A step in the right direction, because it bans the use of harmful fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. However, it still focuses on the vine and not the environment around the vine.

Biodynamic farming: A holistic form of farming that encompasses natural rythyms and cycles to treat the farm as a living organism and provide the best environmental possible for the vine to express itself.

Think of the vine as a child, and the farmer as it’s parent. The parent can micromanage the child and tell it what it needs to like and dislike. The results will probably be a rebellious child with no self expression. Or the parent can provide a healthy environment for the child, give it the tools to succeed, a lot of love and allow the child to express themselves. The vine is like a child, and wants to express itself without a micromanaged system. Biodynamics and to a certain extent, organics, focus on providing the healthiest environment possible, allowing the vine to focus it’s energy on providing the most intense, expressive fruit possible.

Organic and biodynamic wines taste distinctively different, and that is what I’ve learned to appreciate. Too many wines taste the same, sometimes winemakers alter to the wine to a certain style to fit the consumer. Wouldn’t life be boring if every wine had the same acidity? If every wine had the same tannin structure?

I challenge you to enjoy something different tonight. Go out to your local boutique wine store and ask the person who works there for a biodynamic wine. Life is about balance and calculated risks, but we are a society that thrives on routine and habitual behavior. Be bold, be different, and you’ll be surprised with the results.

Biodiversity in a Biodynamic Vineyard (Benziger Family Winery, Sonoma, CA)

I’ll continue to share my journey and my passion at this blog, all I ask is for you to share a thought or comment to keep me thinking while I’m on the road.

Cheers!

Danny

Warning: You Will Get Laid If You Own This!

However, I didn’t want my French girlfriend to become insanely jealous when all the topless, European woman gather around the hovercraft upon my beach entrance. The motorcycle was my number two choice, but the only problem was I didn’t know how to ride a motorcycle. I needed to find someone who did, so the next day, I wrote a message on the Bordeaux Couchsurfing group’s wall:

Bonjour,

I’m curious if anyone living in the Bordeaux area with a motorcycle would like to trade wine and english lessons for a motorcycle lesson. The wine is delicious, the english lessons are comical and it will be fun to meet more people in Bordeaux.

I want to purchase a motorcycle and ride it around France, but don’t know how to ride a motorcycle yet. I’m a very quick learner, if you can help I would really appreciate it. 

Cheers,
Danny
06 38738500

I received a response from a kind, French man (I know an Oxymoron), and 2 days later he showed me how to start, shift and brake a motorcycle in an empty parking lot. Thinking this was all the knowledge I needed, I went shopping for a motorcycle.

At first, I was thinking of spending a few thousand euros on a bike, maybe even a motorcycle with a side car !  Maybe I can liquidate some of my bonds or stocks to really splurge. I became more excited, thinking about starting looking into WWII German war motorcycles with canons coming off the side.

Can someone help me build this?

Then, I came back to reality and realized I didn’t have any bonds or stocks, and I just had a few thousand euros to live off for the next 5 months. So, I went back down to the “piece of shit/please buy me” category on ebay and called a couple guys. With my broken French, I didn’t have a bloody clue what they were saying, but managed to find a bilingual seller, and scheduled a meeting to look at his bike.

Shortly before our meeting, I realized that it’s probably best if I don’t test drive his bike in front of him.

A) I have never rode a motorcycle on an actual road with traffic

B) If I crash his bike and haven’t paid for it yet, he probably wouldn’t be that happy.

So, I came up with the perfect plan to save my dignity and his bike. I’ll pretend I sprained my ankle, walk with a limp, and just ask him a bunch of questions about the bike’s mechanical performance (As if I have any reference to judge his answers on). Here’s how the scenario played out:

I walk towards our meeting place, dragging my leg. Limp…… ….limp………limp……….limp……ah, there’s a bloke that fits his description.

Me: Bonjour…..Simon?

Simon: Oui, Danny?

Me: No, just some random english guy with a limp approaching you….

Simon expresses a huge look of confusion.

Me: Just joking dude. Of course it’s me. Anyways, this is the bike, huh?

Simon: Yes

Me: Cool, looks nice…..(awkward pause)

Simon: Do you want to ride it?

Me: Well…….I totally would, I love riding bikes, but I sprained my ankle playing basketball, and I think I might have a problem shifting the gears right now.

I proceed with an extremely exaggerated limp around the bike

Simon: I see….you are hurt?

Me: Yep, real bad, I was dunking the ball and landed on a friend’s foot.

Simon: Wow, you dunk! I play basketball too, we should play sometime.

Me: Yeah, we’ll see how I feel after it heals. So, how does the bike run? Any problems with the gear box? The engine? The spark plugs?

Simon: The bike runs great, no problems at all.

Me: Okay, how much do you want for it?

Simon: €1400

Me: I’ll give you €1200

Simon: Okay

Me: Cool. Can you bring it over to my house tomorrow and I’ll pay you?

The fake limp saved me from embarrassing myself in front of a random Frenchie, but looking back on it, what a stupid excuse. He actually called me the next week to see if I wanted to go play basketball, but I didn’t want to reveal my knuckleball jump shot, credit card hops and weak lateral movements all at once.

So, I purchased the motorcycle the next day, waited till about 11 pm at night, when the local streets occupied a fewer number of moving objects, and I proceeded to teach myself how to ride. The transition from empty parking lot to streets with cars and stop lights, is like going from swimming in the ocean to lap swimming with the blind, old backstroking women; you’re constantly dodging and ducking all over the place.

A few nights of practice, a few near misses and I had grown my wings. The next weekend I went on my first adventure to St. Emilion, and I was hooked…..

Sophie @ Mouton Rothschild, Paulliac, Bordeaux

She might not look like a road hog, but she gets the job done. Her name is Sophie. I named this magnificent piece of machinery after my French girlfriend, because they share a lot in common. They are both French, petite, and difficult to understand most of the time.

Both my Sophies

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate any feedback

During my third year of college, I was searching for alternate, more appealing career paths. I attended a business seminar, and decided to challenge myself with an internship that was supposedly ranked top 10 in the U.S. by Forbes magazine, Varsity Painting. Varsity Painting sets you up with all the knowledge to run a painting business, all the flyers and marketing material you need, and help along the way for 40% of the cut. Naïve, I salivated at the opportunity of something different, and starting running the painting business out of my 2-door Toyota Celica hatchback. The looks I received as I was driving down the freeway with an 18 foot ladder hanging out of the back of my car, were the same looks I had when I was analyzing my income statements. My cost of materials were too high, my profit margins too low, and my employees turned out to be either ex convicts of drug addicts. The headaches weren’t worth the effort, but I enjoyed the business aspect of the challenge so much I decided to search for a business related major.

With a dodgy G.P.A., I was denied entry to Business Administration, but was then informed of a new major, wine business by my good friend, Sara Lutsko. I knew nothing about wine other than it came from grapes. My favorite wine was “2 buck chuck”, and I thought the vanilla flavors that were described on the label were actually added at some point during the fermentation process, as if someone was standing over a tank of wine shaving vanilla beans. Desperate for a change, I enrolled in wine business in the fall of 2004. My first wine oriented class, Fruit Science 211, was an introduction to viticulture. We commenced on a Friday afternoon field trip and took a large bus up to a vineyard in Paso Robles to learn about brix levels in the grapes. After about 45 minutes in the vineyard, picking grapes and crushing them onto a refractometer, our professor gathered our attention. His name is Dr. Patterson, a rosy cheeked, white bearded man with an Arkansas twang. Gentle and kind spirited, think of him as a cross between the Monopoly guy and the founder of KFC, Coronel Sanders.

“All right y’all, we’re about finished up here”, he announced, “why don’t y’all head over that knoll right there, I got a surprise for you under that Oak tree.”

The group of students and I (moved) like a herd of cattle over the knoll and found a glorious treat; several tri tips on a large BBQ, dozens of bottles of wine, and a few winemakers to share them with. My jaw dropped and within minutes wine was flowing, laughter was shared and friendships were starting. After a few glasses of wine, I approached Dr. Patterson with my thoughts.

“Excuse me, Dr. Patterson”

“Yes, son”

“Hello, my name is Danny, I just want to introduce myself. I’ve recently switched from engineering to wine business, and I have to say this is the greatest lab I’ve ever had. The only thing we did in engineering labs was crunch equations!”

With a cheeky grin, Dr. Patterson replies, “Equations? The only equation I know is 1 + 1 = MORE WINE!”

He lets out a huge roar of laughter, and I can’t help but do the same. It was at this moment, I knew I had found my new major, a new passion, and a new direction.

A new direction