Though the concept of biodynamic wines isn’t a new one – the movement having begun with Rudolf Steiner (1861 – 1925), an Austrian philosopher – it is only just now that it is starting to take off in the mainstream.
Over the years, skeptics have been highly critical of the biodynamic techniques, having called them organic farming to the extreme, but it has continued on for long enough that it is now, finally, able to prove its effectiveness.
Recent studies are finding that using biodynamic vine growing and wine production methods are helpful in developing a diverse biosphere and, as such, become significantly more energy efficient than conventional farming techniques. In a world that now faces energy struggles, climate change, and population growth, the biodynamic practices that are now occurring in over 50 countries around the world are finding their place.
Of course, the final product of the wine isn’t to be ignored, either. Fine wine producers in Europe (including Germany, Italy, France, and Austria), Australia, and the United States have been using biodynamic farming techniques on an increasing basis because it has allowed them to improve the quality of their wines.
A recent wine tasting conducted by Fortune magazine paired ten conventionally-made and biodynamic wines, and produced notable results in the favor of biodynamic methods, as nine out of ten biodynamic wines were found to be superior to their counterparts. The panel of judges was made up of a master wine sommelier, several head sommeliers, in addition to a number of laypersons.