Earth, Moon, Sun & Sky: Biodynamic Farming and Wine - Harvest Club (Feb 2022)
Harvest Club Wines:
What is biodynamic farming you may ask?
Biodynamic farming is a form of alternative agriculture that takes an ecological and ethical approach to farming, food, and gardening. Biodynamic agriculture offers a way to maintain and restore ecological balance and organic harmony to your farm ground or garden, making efficient use of your farm's natural energy.
The research finds that in terms of sustainability biodynamic agriculture is one of the most sustainable agricultural practices in modern day farming. It has no adverse effects on the environment, produces no waste, as everything that would typically be deemed as waste, is recycled to other parts of the farm.
And this month features an entire line up of biodynamic grape growers and the absolutely delicious wines they produce!
Featured Wines:
The "Quell Rose" is a sparkling wine made in the traditional method. Lees ageing for 36 months creates creamy and delicate yeast notes that are perfectly balanced with playful bubbles and a fruity freshness.
Try it with: Brie cheese and fruit compote, Arugula salad with a strawberry vinaigrette, or buttery cod fish tacos!
Andreas Gsellmann | 2018 Traminer Orange Wine | Burgenland, Austria | Biodynamic Farming
This skin contact white wine smells of carmelized orange, salty ocean air, baked apple and gardenia. The palate tastes of ripe apricot and tangerine balanced with a salty minerality. The finish is herby and savory with a slight spice of clove and dried ginger.
Try it with: Fresh fruit salad, duck breast with an orange glaze, or a Moroccan vegetable tagine!
Andreas Gsellmann | 2018 "Zu Tisch" Red Blend | Neusiedlersee, Burgenland, Austria | Biodynamic Farming
The nose of this wine smells spicy, juicy, and of dark berries. Nice gripping tannins, bursting with bold dark fruits, notes of espresso and black pepper. Meaty and juicy, but balanced with beautiful acidity.
Try it with: Such versatility! Cheese and Charcuterie, NY Style pizza with all the toppings, or a rosemary roast chicken!
Very bright and limpid color. The complex nose begins with floral notes, continues with discreet citrus touches, followed by notes of fresh almond. Airing enriches it with a floral touch and buttery notes. Pretty palate with superb length. (Winery)
Try it with: Hard cheeses, shrimp scampi, buttered lobster, chicken in a cream sauce, or a multitude of spicy dishes!
Pure Sangiovese produced from a selection of clones from the 40-50 year old vines and replanted in new vineyards. Vinified in steel tanks with the least possible interventionism in the cellar and aged in oak barrels, it releases a swirl of floral and fruity notes to the nose with pleasant aromas of spices and wild herbs. The sip is soft, fresh and pleasantly mineral with an infinite persistence.
Try it with: Filet mignon kabobs, pasta bolognese, lamb chops, or grilled chicken and veggies!
The name means “the envy of the worm”, the pithy Spanish way of conveying that “I want to be in your shoes when good things are happening”.
Super-charged Albariño with honey and tropical fruit, but showing also the lees contact with an almost balsamic sweetness and a mineral finish. 2019 brings unprecedented cut to go with the familiar aromatic flair and textural luxuriance..
Try it with: Seafood galore!! Chicken piccata, salmon risotto, or white sauce pizza!
About the Producers:
Domaine de l'Oustal Blanc | Minervois, France | @isabelfonquerle
Isabel Cardoso-Fonquerle was born in Guinea-Bissau, a Portuguese-speaking West African country of unspoiled beauty, where cashews, yams, cassava, sweet potatoes and tropical fruits are harvested ... but who knows nothing about the culture of the vine.
In 1998, in Paris where she had settled, Isabel met the complex world of wine during a seasonal job at Lafayette Gourmet, a Mecca for the French art of living. What should only have been a summer job became a vocation when the great sommelier Bruno Quenioux, asked her to join his team. This is when her training begins, she will stay there for 4 years.
In 2002 with Claude Fonquerle (trained in Chateauneuf-du-Pape) Isabel created an estate located in La Livinière, 1er Cru du Languedoc, in Minervois. Isabel stared a training as an operation manager (viticulture, oenology, winemaking, trade, administration).
Today on the 8 ha of the estate, which she manages alone, Isabel farms her native vines naturally under the biodynamic philosophy, and produces solar and refined wines that reflect of a unique terroir as well as the sincere
expression of a woman with a strong personality. (Winery)
Winery Andreas Gsellmann | Gols, Burgenland, Austria | @andreasgsellmanngols
Andreas Gsellmann’s family has been making wine since 1800 and farms 21 hectares of vineyards in Gols in the Pannonian basin, where wine has been made for 2,000 years and was part of Hungary till 1921. The nearby Lake Neusiedl moderates the hot, dry summers and strong winds aerate the vineyards. Gravelly soils were created from deposits from the receding Pannonian sea and offer excellent drainage. Since 2010, Andreas has been farming biodynamically and is a member of Respekt, a group of “young, dynamic and non-dogmatic” winemakers in Austria, Germany and Hungary.
Eladio Piñeiro | Rias Baixas, Spain | @eladiopineiro_froredecarme
Eladio Pineiro is one of the wine world’s great personalities and innovators. It is not often that one encounters a producer who truly re-invents a genre, but that is what he has done with his unique approach to lees-aging. A very recent visit also found him experimenting with aging a wine in the sea (a truly remarkable outcome there) and, after six years of experimentation, producing a sparkling Albariño by the ancestral method that would frankly put many a champagne to shame.
The irrepressible Eladio is also the only producer we have met who employs not one but two full-time artists on his staff. The first, Daniel, is a talented cartoonist whose creations emblazon every new wine (including an annually changing label for Envidiacochina that is designed to track developments in the life of Eladio and his wife – some of which would be considered too racy in the U.S.A.). Daniel also designs all the packaging and publicity material, as well as serving as Eladio’s English interpreter.
Eladio was one of the founders of large scale Albariño production in Spain with Mar de Frades in 1983, but left it all behind when his wife fell ill in 2003, selling the winery and keeping only a few prized vineyards. Now he dedicates himself to making artisanal hand-crafted Albariño (also hand-bottled and hand labeled….you get the drift) in the prime vineyard area of the Salnés Valley. Additionally, and most unusually, they make red wine in Portugal’s Alentejo, where they have a second home. Eladio also commissioned the unique and patented bottle shapes. Everything is bio-dynamic and the wines are as original as they sound. (Importer)
Podere Casaccia di Moretti e Mori Lucia | Scandicci, Tuscany, Italy | @podere.casaccia.sinefelle
Podere Casaccia is a biodynamic heaven in Scandicci, just a few miles from Florence, comprised of a nearly 30 acres of woods, olive groves and vineyard. Roberto Moretti, later joined in the endeavor by his wife Lucia Mori, purchased the farm in 1999 and, inspired by their deep love for their land and natural wine, began recuperating old vines, some over 60 years old, and almost forgotten Tuscan varieties. From these revered ancient vineyards they used old clones of Malvasia Bianca, Pugnitello and Fogliatonda among others to plant new vines. They follow personally every step of the painstaking work in the vineyard, where a verdant biodiversity reigns supreme, and the natural vinification. The depth of emotional breadth and sense of terroir of these delightful wines is difficult to put into words. All wines see no addition of sulphur.
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