Flying over the Southern Alps of New Zealand’s south island, giant folds of earth burst up towards the sky, kissing the long white cloud that hangs silently on the wind, and leaves a white lipstick mark dusted on its peak. All of a sudden, these mountains fall away and are replaced by the Canterbury plains. … Continue reading ‘Natural Balance’ – Muddy Water, Waipara, N.Z.
“The grape supplies everything that’s needed,” says Stan Ivanov, winegrower at Mill About Vineyard, in the Barossa Valley, South Australia. “It supplies its own yeast and enzymes to help with fermentation, the bacteria necessary for malolactic fermentation is also there, and so is all the acid and tannin. So, what else do I need?” Stan, and … Continue reading Something Good – Mill About Vineyards, Barossa Valley, S.A.
“My philosophy with winemaking is uncompromising,” says Shane Munn, winemaker at Woollaston Estate, located in Nelson, at the most northern winegrowing region of New Zealand’s south island. “We let the wine do what it wants to do.” Woollaston Estate was established in 2000 by the (then) Mayor of Nelson, Phillip Woollaston, who originally set it up as … Continue reading Un-compromised Intuition – Woollaston Estate, Nelson, NZ
Dr. Mat Goddard, evolutionary biologist and senior lecturer at Auckland University, studies natural yeasts, especially those yeasts involved in winemaking. Recently, he and his team at the Auckland University Faculty of Science, conducted a study into indigenous yeast populations in vineyards throughout the Marlborough. The study compared yeast populations in conventional, organic, and biodynamic vineyards and … Continue reading Microbiological Biodynamics – Churton, Marlborough NZ
Placing the word ‘natural’ in front of the word ‘wine’, without any apology, or fear of reprisal, the considered use of quotation marks, or adding the phrase ‘so-called’, in order to soften the divisive blow that strikes upon wine’s face whenever the words natural and wine meet one another, is finally a risk I’m willing to … Continue reading ‘Natural Wine, Defined’ – The Chicken Nugget Argument
On a north-east facing ridge, which slopes down towards the banks of the Hay River near Mount Barker, in Western Australia’s Great Southern wine region, there lies a biodynamically managed vineyard, flanked by Blue Gums and olive trees, set against a big sky, and comprised of shiraz, merlot, cabernet, semillon and sauvignon blanc wine grape varieties. … Continue reading ‘Giving Nature a Freehand’ – Freehand Wines, WA
Global warming is a clear and present danger that looms upon the world’s horizon, threatening to dissolve away not only our ice caps and shorelines, but life as we know it. The accelerated and continual rise in average temperatures in our oceans and in the air around us, year on year since the industrial revolution, has made … Continue reading ‘Gift Giving’ – d’meure wines – Tasmania
The idea of letting mother nature take care of things in the vineyard to make for healthier vines, and better tasting wines might seem a little crazy than conventional wisdom would suggest, but the zeitgeist is starting to change. Consumers are becoming more aware of the food and drink choices they make, which is reflected … Continue reading ‘The Rising Tide of Organic Wine in Australia’ – The Wine Idealist
The biodynamic agriculture method uses a number of tools to provide sustainable soil fertility and management practice of a particular property – for example, a vineyard – whilst recognising the link between plant growth and the rhythms of the Earth and cosmos above us. Using various natural fertilisers, compost teas and preparations, such as 500, … Continue reading Observe and Report – The Antipodean Biodynamic Calendar
– ‘Why have you called your wine something people won’t be able to pronounce?’ – ‘Because, if they want to know it and drink it, they will.’ – – “I like to be difficult,” says Josephine Perry from Dormilona (‘door-me-low-nah’) wines, in Western Australia, “and I get accused of that a lot. I’ve always strived … Continue reading ‘Lazy Bones’ – Dormilona Wines – Margaret River – W.A.
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