Preserving wine!
Posted: 05 Feb 2012, 21:57
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.a ... lifeliving
Balance in all things is the key
UNCORKED
By EDWIN SOON
I UNCORKED a white wine the other day but could not finish the bottle so I slung it into the refrigerator thinking I’d finish it later the same evening.
But I forgot all about it until a week later. Believing that it had oxidised in that time and was, therefore, unfit for drinking, I decided to use it marinate some meats. But before doing so, I tasted a little, and to my surprise, I found the wine to be still fresh enough for drinking!
I recalled a similar experience, when a 20-year-old bottle of white wine turned out to taste like something that had only about nine years bottle age.
Both were white wines but made from different varieties, Pinot Blanc and Chenin Blanc, by different producers, and in different regions in France. The only common trait the wines shared was that they were both the product of biodynamic farming. Could this have been the reason the wines retained their freshness longer than “mainstream” wines?
The biodynamics movement began when farmers asked the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) to explain why the use of chemical fertilisers seemed to degrade soil conditions and the health and quality of crops and livestock.
Steiner proposed stopping the use of chemical soil treatments, instead promoting the use of humus such as cow manure, and herbal composts made from chamomile, dandelion and other flowers, and bark.
Steiner suggested that farmers consider their farm as a holistic entity where soil, crops, animals and farmers are interdependent parts. As such, he prescribed ideal planting schedules and harvesting periods tied to the cycle of the moon.
Sceptics have criticised biodynamics as extreme organic farming, using homeopathic sprays, with a bit of astrology thrown in for good measure. Perhaps it is because the biodynamic movement only began in the 1920s and has not had enough time to prove its effectiveness. However, recent studies have found that biodynamic methods help foster a diverse biosphere and are, ultimately, more energy efficient when farming. These factors are today considered relevant in the face of climate change, energy scarcity and population growth. Biodynamics is now practised in more than 50 countries around the world.
There has been a growing interest in using Steiner’s methods for growing grapes.
Indeed, fine wine producers everywhere, from France, Italy and Austria to Germany, Australia and the United States have turned to biodynamic farming because it has helped them to produce better wines.
The holistic approach to farming has led to improved vineyard health, and, ultimately, very fine grapes – the end result being wines that express the terroir (the natural features of a vineyard’s site, including topography, geology, soil depth and type, general climate, and microclimate) of the land.
A recent tasting of 10 pairs of biodynamic and conventionally-made wines, conducted by Fortune magazine, drew definite conclusions: nine of the biodynamic wines were judged superior to their conventional counterparts. The judges were laypersons but included a master of wine and several head sommeliers!
With all this in mind, I researched further on how biodynamic preparations are used.
Usually, the preparations are mixed with water for spraying. The mixing involves the use of a series of bowls throught which the water flows and aerates so that the preparation is “energised” and becomes potent.
More than a handful of producers believe that biodynamics (in Greek, the words “bios” means “life” and “dynamis” means “energy”), endows a wine with a certain energy. And that translates into wines that stay fresh longer. The famous producer Randall Grahm (Bonny Doon Vineyard, California) is a strong proponent of this. And my experience with the two wines is tipping me towards becoming a biodynamic wine fan.
In case you were wondering, the two wines were the Domaine Ostertag Pinot Blanc and La Coulee de Serrant. Domaine Ostertag has been practising biodynamic viticulture since 1998 and wine lovers have remarked that the wines of Domaine Ostertag have increased greatly in quality since.
La Coulee de Serrant, is made by Nicolas Joly, who left a career in finance and turned to making wines via the biodynamic route.
To many budding biodynamic wine producers, he is a guru. Joly has written many papers and books on biodynamics – but you might not need to do more than taste some of his wines to become a believer in biodynamics as well.
Quick facts
The scientific/modern farming practice is to fix problems, for example, spray chemicals if there is fungus or pests.
Organic and biodynamic farming avoid the use of chemicals and synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. Rather, biodynamics strives to create vines that are more resistant to fungus and pests.
Organic and biodynamic farming use natural methods, such as composting, to create a nutrient-rich environment for the vines so that it grows healthy and strong.
Biodynamic practitioners go a step further than organic farmers by creating an environment (with beneficial microbes, or that attract predators that are harmless to the vines but that will keep pests away) so there is no need for pesticides.
Diversity on the estate means that not all land is developed into a vineyard.
There are none of the problems monoculture causes, and everything is in balance.
The holistic approach (“yin-yang balance”, “it takes care of itself”) means that the environment can become a self regulating system. Wines can thus express the terroir of the property.
Grape growers and wine producers do not follow all biodynamic principals. Rather, they use them as a guide and adapt and use what methods work for them.
Biodynamics alone does not make good wine, of course, but good wine producers usually produce better wines after adopting biodynamics.
Edwin Soon is a qualified oenologist and has run wine shops and worked as a winemaker in various countries. He now writes and teaches about wine around Asia.
Balance in all things is the key
UNCORKED
By EDWIN SOON
I UNCORKED a white wine the other day but could not finish the bottle so I slung it into the refrigerator thinking I’d finish it later the same evening.
But I forgot all about it until a week later. Believing that it had oxidised in that time and was, therefore, unfit for drinking, I decided to use it marinate some meats. But before doing so, I tasted a little, and to my surprise, I found the wine to be still fresh enough for drinking!
I recalled a similar experience, when a 20-year-old bottle of white wine turned out to taste like something that had only about nine years bottle age.
Both were white wines but made from different varieties, Pinot Blanc and Chenin Blanc, by different producers, and in different regions in France. The only common trait the wines shared was that they were both the product of biodynamic farming. Could this have been the reason the wines retained their freshness longer than “mainstream” wines?
The biodynamics movement began when farmers asked the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) to explain why the use of chemical fertilisers seemed to degrade soil conditions and the health and quality of crops and livestock.
Steiner proposed stopping the use of chemical soil treatments, instead promoting the use of humus such as cow manure, and herbal composts made from chamomile, dandelion and other flowers, and bark.
Steiner suggested that farmers consider their farm as a holistic entity where soil, crops, animals and farmers are interdependent parts. As such, he prescribed ideal planting schedules and harvesting periods tied to the cycle of the moon.
Sceptics have criticised biodynamics as extreme organic farming, using homeopathic sprays, with a bit of astrology thrown in for good measure. Perhaps it is because the biodynamic movement only began in the 1920s and has not had enough time to prove its effectiveness. However, recent studies have found that biodynamic methods help foster a diverse biosphere and are, ultimately, more energy efficient when farming. These factors are today considered relevant in the face of climate change, energy scarcity and population growth. Biodynamics is now practised in more than 50 countries around the world.
There has been a growing interest in using Steiner’s methods for growing grapes.
Indeed, fine wine producers everywhere, from France, Italy and Austria to Germany, Australia and the United States have turned to biodynamic farming because it has helped them to produce better wines.
The holistic approach to farming has led to improved vineyard health, and, ultimately, very fine grapes – the end result being wines that express the terroir (the natural features of a vineyard’s site, including topography, geology, soil depth and type, general climate, and microclimate) of the land.
A recent tasting of 10 pairs of biodynamic and conventionally-made wines, conducted by Fortune magazine, drew definite conclusions: nine of the biodynamic wines were judged superior to their conventional counterparts. The judges were laypersons but included a master of wine and several head sommeliers!
With all this in mind, I researched further on how biodynamic preparations are used.
Usually, the preparations are mixed with water for spraying. The mixing involves the use of a series of bowls throught which the water flows and aerates so that the preparation is “energised” and becomes potent.
More than a handful of producers believe that biodynamics (in Greek, the words “bios” means “life” and “dynamis” means “energy”), endows a wine with a certain energy. And that translates into wines that stay fresh longer. The famous producer Randall Grahm (Bonny Doon Vineyard, California) is a strong proponent of this. And my experience with the two wines is tipping me towards becoming a biodynamic wine fan.
In case you were wondering, the two wines were the Domaine Ostertag Pinot Blanc and La Coulee de Serrant. Domaine Ostertag has been practising biodynamic viticulture since 1998 and wine lovers have remarked that the wines of Domaine Ostertag have increased greatly in quality since.
La Coulee de Serrant, is made by Nicolas Joly, who left a career in finance and turned to making wines via the biodynamic route.
To many budding biodynamic wine producers, he is a guru. Joly has written many papers and books on biodynamics – but you might not need to do more than taste some of his wines to become a believer in biodynamics as well.
Quick facts
The scientific/modern farming practice is to fix problems, for example, spray chemicals if there is fungus or pests.
Organic and biodynamic farming avoid the use of chemicals and synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. Rather, biodynamics strives to create vines that are more resistant to fungus and pests.
Organic and biodynamic farming use natural methods, such as composting, to create a nutrient-rich environment for the vines so that it grows healthy and strong.
Biodynamic practitioners go a step further than organic farmers by creating an environment (with beneficial microbes, or that attract predators that are harmless to the vines but that will keep pests away) so there is no need for pesticides.
Diversity on the estate means that not all land is developed into a vineyard.
There are none of the problems monoculture causes, and everything is in balance.
The holistic approach (“yin-yang balance”, “it takes care of itself”) means that the environment can become a self regulating system. Wines can thus express the terroir of the property.
Grape growers and wine producers do not follow all biodynamic principals. Rather, they use them as a guide and adapt and use what methods work for them.
Biodynamics alone does not make good wine, of course, but good wine producers usually produce better wines after adopting biodynamics.
Edwin Soon is a qualified oenologist and has run wine shops and worked as a winemaker in various countries. He now writes and teaches about wine around Asia.