What do you think?
Rate this book
What Is Biodynamic Wine: The Quality, the Taste, the Terroir
Nicolas Joly is responsible for producing some of the finest and most highly esteemed wines of France at his Coulee de Serrant vineyard. Practising the biodynamic method of agriculture - sometimes referred to as 'premium organic' - he is at the forefront of a movement to return to the concept of terroir, as full expression and embodiment of a particular grape-growing locality, or appelation. Today even expensive wines, made under strictly regulated controls and standards, are tainted by the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and manipulated in the cellar through the use of osmosis and the additions of aromatic yeasts and enzymes. To counter such trends, a new 'Charter of Quality', run by organic and biodynamic viticulturists, guarantees that the appelation comes to full, authentic expression. To aid this process, biodynamic winegrowers like Joly use special planting methods and preparations that enhance and invigorate the soil, bringing it into harmony with the forces of sun, moon and cosmos to embed the vine in a rich, living context.
Paperback
Published January 1, 2007
3 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 7, 2015
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book; on one hand, I find myself buying into it, while on the other it's at times so far-fetched that I question the entire concept.
There's no doubting that organic, natural farming is generally important, but in wine making the treatment of the grapes clearly makes a difference in the quality and taste of the finished product. So I can say without a doubt that there is something to biodynamic farming. Using other plants and more than just manure to fertilize in place of pesticides makes sense, as does following other traditional farming methods. Wine making, especially in France, relies heavily on tradition, so continuing to use methods developed years ago is a logical jump if you're trying to continue on making wine typical to a region.
What I struggled with a bit was not the idea of using cow horn in your manure composition (Following other legends involving horns such as Unicorns and Rhinoceros and their supposed healing prowess, I'm more willing than I should be to buy into cow horns and their spiral shape affecting the growth of vines. What can I say, my first literary love is and always will be folk-lore) What I struggled with was the importance laid on the alignment of the planets and vibrations. While I can't honestly say that there is nothing to it, the idea that cell phones and barcode scanners are capable of ruining vines, grapes and wine is at it's best techno-phobic. Which isn't even to say that his ideas are wrong or unfounded. There's more than enough studies and evidence cited, but it all comes from the same side that Joly is standing on, so while valid evidence, it can be taken as a grain of salt.
On the whole, this is a very interesting read, but not without problems. Again I will say that my love of folk-lore and mythologies colour my opinions, but I take issue with some of the ways in which Joly uses Greek myth. He twists the tale of Persephone and Hades (Whom he calls Pluto despite stating that it is a Greek myth, which is just a strange sort of disconnect, but I digress) and makes connections I'm not entirely sure are fully worked out within the book. It's one of those things where if you don't know the basics of Greek Mythology, the connections will be lost on you.
The first half of this book is undoubtedly long winded, a trait which I'm not sure I chalk up to Joly or Matthew Barton and his translation. I also wish that the diagrams were all placed within the book where they a referenced, or all together in the middle. The fact that I have to skip around for most but not all of them is a publishing inconsistency that I find inconvenient as a reader. Overall though, this truly is a fascinating insight into the world of biodynamic wine, and left me interested to know more, so at the end of the day, I have to call this book successful in it's purpose, and worth your time.
There's no doubting that organic, natural farming is generally important, but in wine making the treatment of the grapes clearly makes a difference in the quality and taste of the finished product. So I can say without a doubt that there is something to biodynamic farming. Using other plants and more than just manure to fertilize in place of pesticides makes sense, as does following other traditional farming methods. Wine making, especially in France, relies heavily on tradition, so continuing to use methods developed years ago is a logical jump if you're trying to continue on making wine typical to a region.
What I struggled with a bit was not the idea of using cow horn in your manure composition (Following other legends involving horns such as Unicorns and Rhinoceros and their supposed healing prowess, I'm more willing than I should be to buy into cow horns and their spiral shape affecting the growth of vines. What can I say, my first literary love is and always will be folk-lore) What I struggled with was the importance laid on the alignment of the planets and vibrations. While I can't honestly say that there is nothing to it, the idea that cell phones and barcode scanners are capable of ruining vines, grapes and wine is at it's best techno-phobic. Which isn't even to say that his ideas are wrong or unfounded. There's more than enough studies and evidence cited, but it all comes from the same side that Joly is standing on, so while valid evidence, it can be taken as a grain of salt.
On the whole, this is a very interesting read, but not without problems. Again I will say that my love of folk-lore and mythologies colour my opinions, but I take issue with some of the ways in which Joly uses Greek myth. He twists the tale of Persephone and Hades (Whom he calls Pluto despite stating that it is a Greek myth, which is just a strange sort of disconnect, but I digress) and makes connections I'm not entirely sure are fully worked out within the book. It's one of those things where if you don't know the basics of Greek Mythology, the connections will be lost on you.
The first half of this book is undoubtedly long winded, a trait which I'm not sure I chalk up to Joly or Matthew Barton and his translation. I also wish that the diagrams were all placed within the book where they a referenced, or all together in the middle. The fact that I have to skip around for most but not all of them is a publishing inconsistency that I find inconvenient as a reader. Overall though, this truly is a fascinating insight into the world of biodynamic wine, and left me interested to know more, so at the end of the day, I have to call this book successful in it's purpose, and worth your time.
August 10, 2018
Nicoals Joly makes an introduction in he's book to BD farming. the book itself is worth reading... before reading it i wanted to see and learn a bit about BD farming and i think i got a bit of it... it's different in it's techniques of preparing the soil for planting, and the daily care after the plants as well, the concept and look of BD towards the plants is different as well.... they take in account the way the plant grow towards to, as example- the roots crops grow towards the soil therefore they are more ground base plants and they deserve a different treatment than vines - which grow towards the sky there for they are more sun base plants. anyway, this book left me a bit confuse because yea, you would need to go to BD farms in order to understand truly and fully their attitude towards farming.
would recommend reading. maybe more than one time to understand fully.
would recommend reading. maybe more than one time to understand fully.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews