Permaculture and Biodynamics in Baden

The Wine Anarchist has been a bit quiet over the winter, while he was busy establishing a new project in Northern Ireland including planting an experimental vineyard and researching for his book on the permaculture vineyard.  Now he is back on the road for some field research for the book.

His first call was to the Winzerhof Linder in the small historical town of Endingen on the foothills of the Kaiserstuhl mountain in the Baden region of southwestern Germany.

The Kaiserstuhl is a small hill range of volcanic origin in the upper Rhine valley between the Black Forest to the east and the Vosgue mountains to the west and is one of the warmest spots in Germany.  When current owner Ronald Linder took over the small 4 hectare estate from his grandfather in 2011 the vineyards had just been replanted 2 years before and he was going to do things differently.  For a start his dad was given a 'Maschinenverbot', he was banned from using any machinery, else he would get carried away on the tractor mowing down the ground cover plants between the rows to tidy up the vineyard.

The use of non-natural sprays were restricted to copper sulphates and sulphur dioxide, both permitted in organic agriculture, and those only limited to particularly wet seasons.  Instead Ronald sprays with a variety of compost teas as well as biodynamic preparations.  One plot each of Spaetburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) are kept completely free of copper and sulphur in an attempt to strengthen the natural resistance of the grapevines to fungal diseases.  Instead a weekly spray of nettle (left for 10 days to ferment under water) and horsetail (soaked in water overnight and then boiled for an hour to release the silicates) is applied throughout the growing season.  To replace the copper sulphate he is experimenting with a compost tea made from the leaves of ash trees as they are said to contain levels of copper.  Ronald also swears by using biodynamic preparations such as horn silica, which he says has an almost immediate effect on the leaves, as they become more erect and almost crisp to touch.

 The property is located on a south facing slope between 200-250 metres above sea level on a number of terraces.  On the lower terraces a permaculture vegetable and herb garden is planted where many plants are left to grow quite wild and as perennials, such as Tuscan kale, which is now flowering for the third year in a row and happily seeds itself out, providing food for the family.

 The garden as well as the vineyard are neither dug nor ploughed, instead soil is created by successive layers of organic mulch.

 The mulch in the vineyard is mostly made from nettles which are left to grow freely amongst the vines along with grasses, plantain, horsetail, mallow, vetch, clover, valerian, hyssop, lavender, fennel and mint.  Especially the more aromatic herbs are encouraged and hyssop in particular is said to not only attract beneficial insects and deter pests, but also have an influence on the hormonal balance of grapevines by increasing yields and improving the quality of the grapes.

Ronald Linder also experiments with various other herbal preparations such as a plantain infusion as healing potion for injured vines, valerian is added to the nettle and horsetail spray to improve the pungent smell of the nettle tea.  He is trying to grow purple osier salix purpurea, a shrub of the willow family in a small wetland area, to produce a beneficial spray.

Another important element is a small herd of Heidschnucke sheep.  

The Heidschnucke breed is very hardy and easy to look after.  After the grape harvest the sheep are left to wander the vineyards to cut down the cover crops and fertilise the ground.  Whilst using the milk is too work intensive and the wool of this breed is not the most useful, the sheep are used for meat production and the fleeces are sold.  In permaculture any element is needed to perform multiple functions.

If the ground cover plants grow too tall during the growing season they are simply flattened with a roller, pruning cuttings are left to rot amongst the vines to give habitats for insects and fungi.  Until recently a spray of phosphoric acid as a nutrient during flowering was allowed in organic viticulture, but this can be replaced with the nettle application, which has natural phosphoric acid levels.

Also in the interest of using locally available resources, there is a hedge of black locust along the top of the vineyard.  The wood is particularly rot resistant, so the stems are used as end posts for the trellising system.

All in all the Wine Anarchist enjoyed his walk around the natural vineyard with obvious signs of nature and biodiversity which was in stark contrast to the conventional vineyards of the neighbours

And as for the wines?  Winzerhof Linder produces some 20 different wines from Mueller Thurgau, Rivaner, Weisser Burgunder (Pinot Blanc), Chardonnay, Grauer Burgunder (Pinot Gris), Sauvignon Blanc, Gewuerztraminer, Rulaender, Spaetburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Cabernet Sauvignon.  One thing that shone through with all the wines was a distinct minerality and a true expression to the volcanic terroir.  Here are some of the Wine Anarchists tasting notes:

• Weissburgunder 2014 - Light in colour; delicate aromas of peach stone and hawthorn blossom; fresh on the palate with a long, distinctly minerally finish
• Sauvignon Blanc 2014 - Pale colour with greenish tinge; aromas of nettle and kiwi with herbal notes; on the palate a tart acidity is countered by some residual sugar.  Nice aromas but a little jagged around the edges and lacking harmony
• Grauburgunder 2014 - 1/3 of this wine has been matured in second passage local oak barriques for a short period, whilst 10% has been produced using the so-called 'orange wine' method.  This method goes back to the roots of winemaking in Georgia, where both for red and white wines, the skins and stalks are left to macerate in the wine during fermentation.  To avoid oxidisation during this process, Linder used earthen Sauerkraut fermentation vessels for this batch, which have a heavy plate on the top to ensure the skins remain submerged in the liquid.  Finally the wine has been left to mature on it's lees for 4 months.  These methods have resulted in a hugely complex and full-bodied wine, displaying a deep golden colour, a rich and complex minerality and fruit with hints of redcurrant and rose petals and a long spicy finish.
• Grauburgunder Kabinett Tocken 2012 - Medium gold in colour; apples and spice on the nose follow through onto the palate with an extra spicy sensation and delicate layers of white fruit.
• Chardonnay Kabinett Trocken 2014 - Pale gold with green tinges: floral aromas of peach blossom and some apricot fruit; marked acidity, medium body, more apricot fruit with hints of green apple, finishing long if a little tart.  The WA felt it needed a little time for the acidity to settle down.
• Spaetburgunder Edition Landwein 2012 - Garnet in colour with an orangey rim; on the nose this displayed some fresh strawberry fruit combined with sweet damp earth and old leaves; the palate was medium in body with a firm backbone balanced by sweet ripe strawberry fruit and a touch of cranberry, finishing long and dry.  Classic Pinot Noir!
• Spaetburgunder Kabinett 2011 - Light garnet colour showing maturity on the rim; a bouquet of wild strawberry and raspberry fruit with a touch of oak; the palate is lighter than the 2012 with mature fruit flavours, slightly gamey and a touch of sweetness, which aren't balanced by tannins, although the acidity is marked.  The finish is medim in length with earthy notes.  With the low tannin and slight sweetness this would do nicely with blue cheese, but it was the WA's least favourite wine of the selection.
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 - The Cabernet Sauvignon is grown on the sunniest part of the vineyard being exposed virtually all day resulting in impressive 14% alcohol.  This was matured in barrique for 18 months displaying a classic deep purple colour; the nose is rich with plenty of vanilla oak and cassis aromas; the palate is full with marked tannins, balanced with rich liquorice and blackcurrant shining through finishing long.  This obviously still needs some time, but showing plenty of promis.
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 - The Wine Anarchist also had a bottle of the 2011, but was enjoying himself too much to take any notes.  A distinct mintyness and plenty cassis have stuck in his mind though and showing that with a bit of maturity, these wines clearly become better.

 

Still a young project, but one that the Wine Anarchist will be keeping a keen eye on.

Animals in Viticulture

Now, you may be wondering why the Wine Anarchist has a photo of some guy and his goats (and if you look carefully, chickens) in his blog.  Well he has been a bit quiet in recent months, which doesn't mean he hasn't been drinking any wine at all.  In fact the WA has launched a new big project, which he will be reporting on over the next few months on this blog (or rather his anonymous ghost writer will...).  He has decided to combine his two main passions and areas of knowledge, namely wine and permaculture, to write a book on the permaculture vineyard.

Now permaculture is not something that is easy to define in a sentence or two, but essentially it is a design system, usually but not exclusively for land-based projects.  It aims to imitate nature as much as possible, increasing biodiversity and thus building a more resilient system for food production, whilst at the same time reducing input and increasing yield by creating a closed-circuit system.

Now the WA has noticed that most people involved in permaculture like a tipple of wine, which almost exclusively comes from monocultures, even if it is certified organic or even biodynamic.  He feels there must be another way of doing things to be truly sustainable as has been shown by various systems used in history too, and is now actively researching methods that are in accordance with permaculture and can be used in modern viticulture.

This has led the Wine Anarchist on another trip to the east, where he met Bulgarian winery owner Philip Harmandiev (pictured above) of Damianitza winery in Sandanski in south-western Bulgaria.  This winery is currently undergoing a period of transition.  Philip used to be the editor for a financial magazine in Bulgaria, but always had a passion for wine.  Back in 1998 a banker friend of his asked him to look at this flagging winery with severe problems adjusting to the post-communist realities of Bulgaria.  He took over this run-down winery, concrete tanks and mediocre wines all included.  He then invested in the winery to bring it up to modern standards and bought vineyards in various locations all over southern Bulgaria.  A few years ago he moved the winery to a new location, which left him with the old winery in an industrial estate near the main Sofia to Thessaloniki highway without knowing what to do with it.

Some 3 years ago he had a Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus revelation, realising that the way we conventionally grow our food and our grapes for wine production is not sustainable on the long run after he saw the move Food Inc.  The documentary talks about the way modern food is produced and how it harms both the environment and humans themselves.  As an alternative it features an animal farmer, Joel Salatin, who wrote the bestselling book 'You Can Farm'.  Philip was so inspired that he translated the book into Bulgarian and decided to turn the old winery into an animal farm along the principles described by Salatin and at the same time converting his vineyards to organic methods.

At this particular point in time the two systems only touch marginally, as his vineyards are scattered around the country whilst the animals are only on one location.  Moving the animals around would take to much effort to fully integrate them as part of the vineyard management.  However, Philip has experimented with having sheep graze between rows of vines to keep down vegetation, attract beneficial insects and fertilise the soil.  Grape stalks get fed to goats who love that stuff and in return it as compost much quicker than if you were to just leave them.  Grape skins after fermentation are fed to wormeries to turn to compost.

The animals in the meantime are kept on mixed pastures such as cows and pigs together, the pigs  eating the cow dung and at the same time destroying any intestinal pests lurking in there, thus lowering the risk of re-infecting other cows.

 
Chicken tractors follow cow grazing areas for the same reason and to re-fertilise the soil.

Egg-laying hens get larger mobile homes offering space for several hundred birds, whilst having all the space to do what they like best, foraging free range.

Pigs get to roam free and do what they like best: roll in mud

All enclosures are protected from predators by electric fences and dogs.

Slaughter of animals happens on site under as humane as possible conditions.  Philip's attention to detail goes beyond the welfare of his animals.  In an effort to reduce the environmental footprint of his operation he recycles as much as possible.  For example he uses scrap aluminum printer sheets as roofing for the animal shelters.  Not only do they not conduct heat like other metals and stay nice and cool, it also gives the animals inside something to read when they're feeling bored.

The whole operation is now a successful business as people come back and even pre-order meat, eggs and dairy products of far superior quality than the conventionally available AND production costs are actually lower.  In the future Philip wants to consolidate his vineyard holdings to fully integrate the two systems with sheep, chickens, ducks and geese grazing the vineyards and fertilising them.  A project to keep an eye on.

In the meantime, yes the Wine Anarchist did get to taste some wine too.  The main brands currently produced by Damianitza are No Man's Land, Uniqato and ReDark.  These are the thoughts of the WA on 3 of the wines he got to taste:

• UNIQATO Rubin 2009: Big hefty wine, deep ruby colour with slight orangey tint on the edge, showing some age; rich nose of milk chocolate or rum'n'raisin, blackberry and morello cherry; the palate is very warm and rich with some spicy notes and lots of ripe fruit. A bit overripe perhaps at 14.5%, big in your face lacking subtlety, finesse.   Rubin is a Bulgarian cross of Syrah and Nebbiolo. It certainly has the power of those two varieties.
  
  
  UNIQATO Melnik & Ruen 2010: Med. ruby in colour with a pale rim; the nose reveals savoury notes of bay leaf, eucalyptus and basil as well as ripe blueberry and lush plum fruit and a hint of vanilla; The palate is full with some distinct peppery spice, more blueberry fruit and some well balanced tannins.  The finish is long and juicy.  Very nice indeed.  Melnik is the native variety of south-western Bulgaria and Ruen is another Bulgarian cross between Melnik and Cabernet Sauvignon.
  
  
  ReDark 2009: This is the flagship wine of the winery, their super-premium, and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Rouen and Rubin.  The colour is still a youthful ruby with purple fringes; the intense aromas display floral aromas of sweet violets and lilac as well as spicy leather and vanilla notes; the palate still has a big tannic backbone, plenty of peppery spice, but balanced by some ripe blackcurrant fruit.  The finish is long and spicy with hints of liquorice.  A classy wine, which will continue to develop for the next 5 years at least.