Grape Collective Article: Moonstruck in Alsace, How Biodynamic Winemakers are Connecting the Dots Between Soil and Sky

Vineyard views in Alsace.

Biodynamic farming is a hot topic in winemaking, with Alsace leading the way in Europe. In my latest on Grape Collective, meet four Alsace producers who practice what many consider unusual and bizarre farming methods. (Excerpt below).

Fourth Century Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou once said, "Knowing that knowledge cannot know, remains the highest knowledge." 

When I asked Alsace biodynamic wine producer André Ostertag how he responds to those who say that the spiritual and astrological aspects of biodynamics is pseudo-scientific nonsense, he shared Zhou's quote with me. For Ostertag, it's the understanding that lies in what it does not understand that is the finest. In other words, as mere mortals, we cannot comprehend everything around us, and just because something is not visible to the human eye doesn't mean it's not a real phenomenon. 

"Biodynamic farming is a wonderful mix of art and science," says Ostertag, "feeling and thinking, meditation and action." 

Read the full article here: grapecollective.com.

Skeptics assert that biodynamic’s unconventional methods lack scientific evidence. One often-mocked practice involves ‘Preparation 500,’ the burying of manure-filled cow horns in the fall that are left to decompose over the winter. Dug up in the spring, the remaining matter inside the horn is diluted into a spray and used as fertilizer for the vines. (Grape Collective, February 2021).