What is a biodynamic wine tasting ?

I surrendered, a few days ago, at a wine merchant with friends to buy wine. Obviously, we asked for advice on a few wines and a surprising thing happened - bordering on the supernatural - when we asked the wine merchant for information on the aromas of a biodynamic wine from Alsace.

He replied "It all depends, what day do you want to drink it ? ". I think our goldfish tunes prompted him to give us some more explanation - always so stranges — : “If you taste this biodynamic wine on a fire or earth day, the wine will not have the same characteristics ". Seeing our silence, he took another bottle adding "this one will be fine. "

Back home, I decided to do my little research to understand what had just happened. I then discovered an article called " Study of the influence of the biodynamic calendar on tasting : first series of tests ... "

What is biodynamic viticulture ?

Biodynamic viticulture is based on the search for the balance of the vine with its immediate and more distant environment. This is a method that appeared in 1924, under the influence of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and agronomist who laid down the fundamental principles:

• improvement of the soil and the plant by preparations made from vegetable matter (horsetail or nettle herbal teas…), animals (dung sprayed on the ground, horn dung on the vine…) and minerals (quartz to stimulate photosynthesis…),
• application of these preparations at specific times depending on the vegetation cycles of the vine and in relation to the lunar and planetary calendar,
• tillage by plowing and doodling,

The Demeter label certifies products from biodynamic agriculture. There is also a “Biodyn” label for agricultural areas undergoing conversion..

And the biodynamic calendar ?

The biodynamic calendar is based on five major lunar cycles and planetary aspects :

• synodic rhythm : this is the most famous. It corresponds to the increasing and decreasing phases of the moon and lasts 29,53 days
• the sidereal rhythm : this is the movement of the Moon when it moves against the background of fixed stars, in front of 12 constellations zodiacales. It corresponds to 4 Fire / Fruit elements or days, Water / Leaf, Air / Flower, Earth / Root. A cycle lasts 27,3 days. — remember the wine merchant who asked me when I was going to drink my wine, one day fire or earth ? —
• the tropical rhythm : This is the ascending / descending cycle, when the moon rises or falls in the sky relative to the horizon. This cycle of 27,3 days has a very important role in biodynamics, it corresponds to mini seasons.
• anomalistic rhythm: It designates a cycle of 27,55 days describing the apogee and perigee of the moon. The lone has an elliptical trajectory with a passage at a minimum distance from the Earth, it is the perigee and a passage at a maximum distance called apogee.
• the draconian rhythm : corresponds to the lunar nodes of 27,2 days, it is when the moon's plane of rotation intersects the Earth's plane of rotation.

You want to know more about the biodynamic calendar ? Biodynamic calendar 2015

The impact of the biodynamic calendar on tasting

Wine nose depending on the type of day

• White wines : a "root" day does not seem to be a good day to taste white, although no correlation was found between the type of day and the quality of the wine's nose.
• Red wines : the days "leaves" and "nodes" give wines below their quality. This quality seems linked to the openness of the wine and the presence of floral and fruity aromas.

Mouth of the wine depending on the type of day

• White wines : the lunar node seems to play an important role in the aromatic intensity and the balance of the wine. Leaf and fruit days seem negative on the palate of a wine.
• Red wines : the fruit day seems to be the most interesting to taste the wines bringing out the fleshy aspect and the tannins are present, but flexible.

What is the best day to taste my wine ?

For red wines, the fruit day is to be privileged, it comes out with a round and silky structure, the root day is dense in tannins, but astringent. In lunar knot, the wine is less tannic, but flexible. It is therefore advisable to avoid lunar root and node days to taste red wines. For whites, the lunar knot brings out the aromas more intensely and the leaves and fruit days more weakly.

If you feel like trying the biodynamic tasting, you can consult the Biodynamic calendar to know the type of day you will be on during your tasting.

The opinion of fine wines

Although sensitive to biodynamic cultivation - who would be able to say that it could be a bad thing for a winegrower to engage in this reasoned and reasonable agriculture —, I am still quite perplexed about the impact of the biodynamic calendar on a wine tasting. Were the participants of this study aware of the biodynamic calendar and its possible impact on a tasting? ?

To add a layer, there are several conflicting versions of this calendar, But there is worse… there is only 6 to 8 fruit days per month so enjoying a small glass of red wine in front of the fireplace or the TV becomes a real headache.