The Role of Farm Soil in Biodynamic Wines

Before we go over the role of farm soil in the production of biodynamic wines we want to briefly explain that pretty much every ecosystem on our planet relies on the healthy interactions between plants, animals and soil.

Similar to one of the tenets of biodynamic agriculture, we believe that the path to healthier, more robust crops lies in the soil.

For those with a goal to increase crop yields, it does not require continual increases to chemical inputs. In fact, continuing to put more and more fertilizer on your crops is going to hurt farmland and the regional environment.

However, using various biodynamic soil activators, our products work with Mother Nature to make your crop roots become more prolific and grow deeper into the ground. Not only does this process create increased yields, we also believe that it produces tastier agricultural products , including diodynamic wines!

We stimulate farm soil biodiversity by unlocking the microbes already present in your soil. These microbes in turn unlock the “bound up nutrients” that are presently stored in your soil.

A full list of our biodynamic soil activator products can be found here and we are also available by telephone at 1-800-714-4903.

With that in mind, we now take a look at what roles soil and biodiversity have when it comes to producing biodynamic wine.

What Is Biodynamic Wine?

Biodynamic winemaking is a philosophy. Organic winemaking is a methodology.

Biodynamic winemaking employs the methods of organic wine production with additional focus placed on carefully cultivating the entire eco-system surrounding the vineyard as well as astronomical considerations during planting, sowing, harvesting and pruning.

You read that correctly: biodynamic winemakers factor in celestial movements into their winemaking process in hopes of enhancing the health, taste and texture of the wine.

How Do the Stars, Sun and Moon Influence Winemaking?

According to Gerard Bertrand, renowned biodynamic winemaker, the agricultural movement started with Rudolf Steiner in the 1920’s. At that time, winemakers had very few chemical fertilizers and pesticides at their disposal. In other words, organic winemaking was almost the default practice because there were no alternatives.

Bertand further described the origin of the movement when he said, “The biodynamic principle has been created by Rudolf Steiner who was Austrian. And, in 1924, he has written a book called The Lessons for Agriculture. And, he explained how the stars, the moon and the sun influence the plants and the vines through the silicon in the subsoil and through the calcium carbonate in the soil. And, he also explains the strong influence of the moon during the grow vegetative cycle.”

Bertrand went on to say that viticulture, grape growing, is enhanced by biodynamic practices because vines grown with this philosophy tend of have roots that penetrate deeper into the ground. The deeper the roots penetrate, the more the terroir can influence the end product.

Terroir and the Impact of Soil on Flavor

Terroir is the collection of all the environmental factors that affect a vine’s observable characteristics. Farmers manipulate terroir by creating unique environments, using particular farming practices and maintaining a highly specific growth habitat. Terroir as previously described is the “environmental context” of a crop, but terroir is also used to describe a wine’s “environmental character.”

In other words, you can taste the environment a wine was grown in and that distinct quality is known as terroir.

Terroir, as it relates to a crop’s environment and as a descriptor of taste, can also be applied to other crops including coffee, tomatoes, tea and even cannabis.

Pro-Soil Knows Great Farm Soil!

We at Pro-Soil may not advocate farming according to the movement of celestial bodies, but we definitely advocate for optimizing the health and performance of your soil.

Many farmers assume that they have nutrient deficient soil, so they add more and more fertilizer. In reality, most farmers don’t have a nutrient deficiency problem, rather, they have a nutrient release problem. The easiest way to free up bound nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium is to stimulate microbial activity in the soil with our biodynamic soil activator products.

Find a full list of Pro-Soil’s products here. If you’re ready for increased crop yields using fewer inputs, give us a call at 1-800-714-4903.