Organic and biodynamic
Organic agriculture aims to establish long lasting production, while biodynamic
agriculture is concerned with healthy plants.
We know that the main characteristic of organic agriculture is the absence of chemicals, insecticides and fungicides. The organic wine grower only uses natural products, limited in number and quantity, in particular to copper.
The organic viticulture demands great precision and rigour for champagne which is very sensitive to mildew. In this way, the producer works to strengthen the vines and the plowing which allows enables the branches to receive better exposure to the sunlight.
The organic viticulture continues until bottling. Over and above the ecological concerns, the wine grower chooses organic culture to ensure the best taste, closest to earth. Once in the cave, he aims to preserve this taste. He will therefore use indigenous yeast.
Biodynamism reinforces plants vitality and resistance.
The concept heralded from the Austrian rudolf Steiner who in 1924 offered the alternative to the rural population who were worried about seeing their deteriorating semences, fruit and vegetables. The biodynamic viticulture is a philosophical and anthropological concept that combines ecology and spiritualism. “Convinced of the influence of terrestrial and cosmic forces on organic life on earth.”
“The soil-vine-climate environment is a unique entity for which the incidence of one of these substrates will manifest itself irectly because everything is connected by the energy of the universe.” Herbicides are not used and vegetation is left between the ranges of ceps.
With animal excrement, natural fertilizers are elaborated and introduced in the horn of
cows, buried in the winter in order to revitalize them with water and then pulverized in
the vineyard or added to the compost. Infusion plants and minerals like quartz are also
used to stimulate photosynthesis.
All treatments, preparations, actions, and applications follow scrupulously the lunar
and planetary calendar, which designates the days and moments to planting, pruning,
harvesting, intervening.
The ascending and descending cycles influence behaviors, we know the rhythm of the tides that are better known, but there are also the behaviors of the plant without forgetting the sidereal cycle that marks the passage of the moon before the different zodiacal constellations.
A calendar of seedlings created by Maria Thun is indispensable because it determines the favorable days -fruits, flowers, roots or leaves- for the different wine and agricultural works.
Healthy vines, stronger, balanced work to preserve our soils and our health.
