BYOBB: Bring Your Own Biodynamic Bottle--Blind Wine Tasting

Saturday our winery hosted our very first BYOBB. Everyone (wineclub members and friends) was asked to bring a Biodynamic bottle from any wine region, white or red. Our guests were incredible, they did their homework and brought mind-blowing wines. We had 4 flights of wine paired with food, all wines were served blind. And let me just put lay it on the line, this was the best wine tasting Phillip and I have ever attended. The wines were beautiful, full of intriguing and complex aromas, but the flavors on the palate were rich, full, unoffensive, unique. It was amazing that all 11 wines were delicious! Not one of the wines was "hot", or "off", or unpleasant. And the wines ranged from Gruner Veltliner--to Frappat0--to Pinot Noir. The highest alcohol present was a 14.7%, but mostly they held right at 12%.

The First Flight: Hefeabzug Gruner Veltliner 2008, Nikolaihof Wachau from Austria; AmByth Estate "Priscus" 2009 (Grenache Blanc/Roussanne/Marsanne; Domaine Andre et Mireille Tissot "Arbois" Chardonnay/Savagnin 2005 from Jura, France. Flight served with a Rustic Beef/Pork Terrine on a bed of red leaf lettuce and herbs from the garden with a slice of hearth bread.

Second Flight: Azienda Agricola COS "Frappato Victoria" 2007, Sicily (Phillip's rating: 20 out of 20, his wine of the night); Porter-Bass Pinot Noir 2008, Russian River Valley, California; Cooper Mountain Vineyards "Doctor's Reserve" Pinot Noir 2006, Williamette Valley, Oregon.


Flight served with Golden Fennel from the garden simmered in lemon juice and white wine, tossed with Fettucine.

Third Flight: Nusserhof Lagrein Riserva 2005, Bozen, Italy; Catherine & Pierre Breton " St Louans 2006, Loire, France; and Les Jeunes Vignes des Gelinettes "Cabernet Franc 2006, Loire, France

Flight served with Braised estate Short Ribs on mashed potatoes.
















The Fourth, and Final Flight was incredible. Phillip opened a Coulee de Serrant 2004 on Wednesday to allow this Chenin Blanc from the Loire to breathe and develop its full flavor. Incidentally, one of our guests also brought a 2004 Nicolas Joly wine, the Clos de la Bergerie. I can't think of a better ending to this tasting, than to drink TWO incredible wines, made by one of the most profound Biodynamic wine producers in the world. The wines were sensational. They were paired with a Date, Cranberry, Walnut and Chocolate Torte with whipped cream.

We continue to discuss the reasons these 11 wines chosen were so delicious, lively and drinkable...because they are made by small producers who have a more "hands-on" approach...because closer attention is paid in the vineyards by the winemakers...because they are Biodynamic? I think the answer is certainly all 3, but the purpose of Biodynamic farming is to bring the vine into full balance, thus producing fruit which displays this harmony. Yes, the wine makes itself--the quality of the wine is reflective of the vineyard's state of being. And yes, I believe Biodynamic farming promotes this.

And yes, yes, yes--this will become an annual event, and surely not one to be missed!

Biodynamic Sprays, Mowing, Rhythms of the Farm and a Homeopathic Solution to Powdery Mildew??

Spring is most certainly here with all of the attendant work: we have beautiful buds pushing out everywhere, bud break first started in the Sangiovese and Tempranillo and quickly made it's way through the Rhone varietals. We had ferocious winds and rain a couple of nights ago--Phillip was kept awake by his worry for those vulnerable baby shoots, he imagined waking up to destruction in the vineyard...but all is okay! (We are still slightly worried about frost damage, but at AmByth we seem to not suffer much from this malady to young buds.)

Back to the Spring work...Phillip commented to me that he is getting much more used to everything--the "year's work ahead" seems much less daunting, perhaps we're just getting better at what we do (farming-wise, and read on so this doesn't sound so egotistical). Phillip is on day 8 on his tractor mowing, followed by 8 more days of disking, we are planting the Spring gardens, and oh yes-the weeding continues. We are eagerly waiting for Dutchess, our dairy cow, to give birth (is today the day?) The 09's are blended and we've been busy bottling the 08's, we will soon start preparing the May wineclub shipments and we have some fun events on the calendar. There are many, many other tasks to move forward with, BUT! this year it all seems manageable. Perhaps we are starting to achieve the ultimate goal of Biodynamic farming: to realize the rhythm of the farm. This sacred piece of land we're tending has it's own rhythm, as Phillip and I do, and we open our hearts, minds and souls to become more intimate with it daily.

A new sight at AmByth is our "stirring machine" (looks interesting, huh?). Phillip saw this in a book about a Tuscan Biodynamic farm and has been waiting until the time came to erect such an apparatus for our farm. Yesterday afternoon Biodynamic Preperation 500 was applied to the soil in the afternoon after stirring it for one hour in the barrel (shown in the photo). And as the sun rose this morning we were out stirring Biodynamic spray 501 (applied only to the Sangiovese). Both of these sprays are applied mainly in the Spring and Fall, and in a succession of 3. 500 is sprayed on the soil, and 501 on the foliage. It feels good to be back out in the vineyards, to see the growth, to apply the BD sprays and teas, to hear the sounds of life.

Yet, the threat of powdery mildew infecting our vines looms...we are trying to new tool to combat it: itself!! And where did this come from? Mainly from reading our homeopathic books--"treat like with like", and conversations with Gilles De Domingo, the winemaker from Cooper Mountain Vineyards in Oregon (a Biodynamic vineyard and winery). We took effected powdery mildew cuttings from about a dozen plants and burned them by themselves. We then took the best ashes (about 5 to 6 tablespoons) and ground them for an hour in a mortar and pestle. We then took 1 teaspoon of the ground ashes and mixed it with 8 quarts of water in a container and shook this container forcefully 10 times. We kept 10% of this quantity and discarded the remaining 90%--we then added 8 quarts again to the 10%, shook forcefully, kept 10%...etc, etc. We repeated this process 30 times (photo at left is our volunteer diluter, John). We sprayed just a whisper of this homeopathic spray on potentially infected vines, hoping to discourage further powdery mildew spread. We will continue to spray this as necessary. And we'll definitely keep records and share the success or failure!