Coming Soon: Moon Doggie Wines?

Reports have it that for the first time, 32 biodynamic chateaux held their own primeur tasting in Bordeaux. Their tasting was actually part of the weeklong tasting of primeurs, or wine futures, when wine professionals gather to sample, then buy, the most recent vintage - while the wines are still aging in their oak barrels.

Industry watchers say that as the organic/biodynamic sections in supermarkets are growing, so is the shelf space for organic/biodynamic wines. By way of example, the market for organic food grew by 10 percent in France last year and here in the US, Walmart and other retailers are going all out to provide customers with organic product.

Although biodynamics and organics fall into the same general category of alternative farming practices, the two are not identical.

The main principles of biodynamic farming were set by Austrian philosopher and mathematician Rudolph Steiner in the 1920s.

As with organic farming, biodynamics forbids use of chemical fertilizers and weed killers, but it goes further in terms of philosophy, arguing that the entire vineyard is a living system influenced by various factors, notably the moon.

By using special plant and animal preparations, in tiny amounts, at certain times of the moon's cycle, they can activate the soil and root system of the plant, which then produces better fruit, believers claim.

For example, one preparation is made of cow manure, fermented in a cow horn and buried in the ground for one winter. It is diluted and sprayed in the vineyard to activate soil and roots.

Mmmmm ...

For some reason, the "eye of newt and toe of frog" chant keeps popping into my mind.

But you can't argue with results, and biodynamic farmers say the system has lessened vineyard problems like mildew.

What it all boils down to is what any real estate agent will name as the three most important features of property: Location, location, location!

If the future of top wines is in the terroir - the particular soil and climate conditions associated with each parcel of vines - bio-dynamic farming is here to stay. It's about good soil and if you want good terroir you need good soil.

Good terroir, good soil, good wine at a good price!

Who could ask for anything more?

I haven't ever seen a bottle of wine labeled "Moon Doggie" but with the recent swing toward biodynamic wines, there must be one in our future.