On a recent visit to Tuscany I was surprised at the number of producers making biodynamic wines. There is no doubt that these wines had very pure fruit flavours and were very clean and focused, but most of the other producers we met also made delicious wines. So do biodynamic practices really make a difference?

A more cynical oenologist friend recently said to me “Frankly, as a scientist (and I know I’m speaking to one) the whole biodynamic thing doesn’t really hold any water for me. Green is one thing, filling a cow horn with manure and burying it under a full moon and then turning it three times etc etc…er…excuse me??? You’ll have to convince me, Nicks.”

And that is what I plan to do – convince her!

I have met biodynamic producers in Bordeaux, Burgundy, South Africa and now Tuscany and all showed an incredible passion for their wines and a huge respect for their land and for nature. They talk about working in harmony with nature, be it the weather or pests, or the grapes themselves, and all processes are done gently and with great care. There is an emphasis on preserving and reflecting the character of the terroir in the wines. No pesticides, weed-killers or chemical fertilisers are used because the soil is considered a living entity and over-use of such chemicals eventually removes the living organisms and minerals in the soil. Biodynamic viticulture therefore provides a sustainable future for their estates.

All the wine-makers I spoke to said that the quality of their wines had improved when they changed to biodynamic production.  The photos shown here were taken in one of the biodynamic Tenuta di Valgiano vineyards (top) and a neighbouring vineyard (bottom) a few metres away.  They illustrate the effect of biodynamic practices on the quality of the soil - the biodynamic soil has a more open consistency and is uniformly rich resulting in ample healthy natural vegetation whereas the non-biodynamic soil is more compact with just a thin rich layer at the surface and poorer vegetation.  Biodynamic soils retain minerals and moisture resulting in healthier plants and hence better quality grapes.

Yes, cow horns are used and various practices are done according to the phases of the moon, and I don’t fully understand all this, but if the resulting wines are as delicious as I have found them to be, then I am quite happy! There are many excellent non-biodynamic wines but how sustainable is their production if all sorts of chemicals are being put into the soils and onto the vines? Surely working with nature rather than trying to fight it makes more sense?

Is biodynamic wine making whacky or wonderful?

Well, as the Champenois put up their feet, preparing for some late summer sun on the Riviera after an extraordinarily early harvest, there must, for all those rugby and football woes, be a few smiles on their faces. Why? Because once more the stories of demand exceeding supply and global supply shortages are doing the rounds, grist to the mill of publicity at which the marketing professionals at the big companies such as LVHH and Vranken excel, nonchalantly of course.

But is there any truth in them? The Comité Interprofessionel Des Vins De Champagne ( CIVC) are now authorising absurdly high yields (15,500 kg/ha including bloquage - enough to make a Bordelais blush and a Burgundian faint) and yet if they are to maintain the quality imperative which has been the bed-rock of their success they will be unwise to try and extend the vineyard area (currently at pretty much full capacity at 34,000 hectares) or to reduce the ageing requirement of the wines.

Production, 25 million bottles in 1950, is set to be a record 328 million bottles this year, pretty much exactly mirroring the current sales. But the current sales look set to rise by up to 5% a year. There is no slack any more, and emerging markets, carefully nurtured, now need to be quenched.

So yes, there will inevitably be a supply problem. What I think we will see is that the great Grandes Marques will gradually cease the extraordinary St Vitas Dance of deep discounting that has been a bizarre feature of our high streets for so long, and will eventually pull out of the high street altogether, being far more selective about their distribution, primarily in the independent sector and leading hotels and restaurants.

Greater polarity will ensue with the big brands from the Boizel Group, The Vrankens and Pernod Ricard all still being widely available, but the Pols, Bols and Roederers of this world will be much harder to find, with, inevitably, concomitant pressure on prices. Every which way the Champenois can not fail to come out on top, if they can continue to manage the grape supply and pricing with their habitual aplomb.

Is it all over for Grandes Marques on the high street?

On September 12th, London Sales Director Lance Jefferson, aided by Ben Upjohn from Fine Wine Sales & Berrys’ Online Writer Katie McCarthy gave a fabulous Champagne tasting in Berrys’ Suite in the O2 Arena to Berrys’ customers. Customers arrived and were greeted with a glass of Pol and a tasting of 6 Champagnes. 

Lance managed to talk through each one before Prince’s perfomance on 12th September to a group of Berrys’ customers. Lance reports that the excitement of tasting Gosset, Pol Roger, Gratien, Billecart-Salmon and Gosset was equally matched by the sparkling performance of Prince himself. He said it adds a whole new dimension to tasting, with the brilliant rock venue atmosphere of the O2.

The only thing we missed was not having the addition of Elton John. A customer emailed me this morning to say he had a great time in our suite last night (He has now attended 4 Prince concerts - 3 in our Suite) and that Elton John appeared on stage with Prince! Could that have made the Champagne even better?

This introduces a facinating question. How much does atmosphere contribute to our pleasure of tasting? Our respose to a particular wine can vary enormously according to our mood, company and time of day.

The vintage is early but will it be good?

Vigneron David Clark took these pictures of his grapes on June 16th this year to compare with the same pic on the same day a year earlier.

The beautiful April weather got the vine cycle off to a great start, but since then the weather has been almost as indifferent as in the UK. Picking started in late August and is going on this week - I shall be scouting around to look at the grapes as they come in and will report back.

Ever since we first designed a website for BB&R in 1994, we saw it as an extension of our business. We might have been breaking into unfamiliar territory in those days, but we always wanted to remain true to the ‘culture’ of Berry Bros, built layer by layer over the course of 300 years.

I like to think that we succeeded, and even if technology continues to surprise us (and who would have envisioned videocasts even three years ago, let alone thirteen) we believe that it’s the medium that changes, never the message.

However one aspect of life at BB&R has not yet translated to the internet: the discussions that are an everyday part of our business lives. Wine is a subject that demands different opinions.

Whether it’s over a tasting, at a private lunch with producers, in one of our shops or a public dinner down in our cellars, there is always some debate going on. The relative merits of corks, or glasses, or new grape varieties, or fermentation techniques. Has one vintage developed according to expectation, or has another taken us by surprise? Do we agree with an opinion on the relative wine making skills of a father compared to a son, or that a particular wine is under-valued? How was wine appreciated in the past, and how will things change in the future? And with representatives in cities as far apart as Dublin and Shanghai, these conversations continue all around the clock!

Finally, this crucial strand of our existence reaches the internet! With the introduction of Berrys’ Fine Wine Blog, you will be able to read the opinions and the experiences of the people who make up our company, and to question them, agree with them, disagree with them or even put them right!