Like the jumble of categories for meat and produce, wines now offer choices for the discriminating buyer. If you’re like me, you know about kosher and organic wines, but biodynamic? What’s that? Biodynamic is sort of like organic, dipped in mysticism and astrology. A bit of Alice Waters, a bit of Anne Rice, if you will. Seems like a newfangled idea, but European farmers have been using biodynamic principles for decades, led by the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, the guy who founded the Waldorf schools. Essentially, winemakers link the growth of grapes to moon cycles and planetary alignment; they eschew pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. There’s even an extra special trick involving a cow horn filled with manure buried on the fall equinox. Uh huh. It’s stuff like this that makes me realize I may not be as 100 percent blue state as I claim. Pass me the Doritos and sody-pop, Jim-Bob.
But what of the taste? Biodynamic wine lovers mention a purity of flavor, strong perfume and intense minerality. Reviews are on their side: some top French wines are biodynamic, though it doesn’t necessarily mention it on the labels. As for my take, I’m no expert: my level of sophistication matches that of my cousin, with whom I attended a tasting at which a master winemaker poured us sips of and waited for us to pick up on the subtle odors and flavors. Taking a big whiff, my cousin looked up at the winemaker and said, “To me…it smells like grapes.”
