Sunday, January 14, 2007

Biodynamic Wine: A Tasty Trend


I learned about something new with this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday theme: Biodynamic Wine. What is it? The best description is listed by Jack from Fork & Bottle who select the theme and is is hosting this month's event. But for the sake of simplicity, I'll define it as wine made from sustainable organic ingredients.

Biodynamics are not that easy to come by. I searched several online retailers, looking for organic and biodymanic wine but could not find any. Luckily, I stumbled upon an article that Food & Wine published in July, 2006 about biodynamic wine becoming the next trend. I searched the internet for the 12 wines recommended by F&W, not having much luck. I settled up on the 2003 Tandem Porter-Bass Vineyards Chardonnay ($48) which I ordered direct from Tandem Winery.


Tandem owners Greg La Follette and Greg Bjornstad source grapes from a host of great vineyards for their wines. Among them is the tiny Porter-Bass property in California's Russian River Valley, where biodynamic farming and miniscule yields help intensify the flavors of the grapes, as this vibrant, quince-flavored Chardonnay shows.


I chose the Chardonnay because it is currently my favorite wine. I seem to enjoy a nice cold glass of Chardonnay more often now that I live down here in Florida. I use to drink more red when I lived up north.

Jack stated that Biodynamic Wine always tends to have a pure fruitiness and I whole-heartedly agree. There was nothing oakey about this Chardonnay at all. I am not much of a wine-taster and do not usually have any luck picking out the specific flavors used in wines. Below is a description from the Gang of Pour:


This has a nose of spring flowers, white peach, mandarin, hay, mineral and limestone. It really reminds of a drinking a first rate Chablis. It offers a full viscous palate of ripe pear and Seville orange, concluding with a streak of harmonious lime acidity.


I shared this bottle with my friend Julie and her husband Jason. Jason is a wine drinker and Julie is not. We all liked it, even Julie. It is light and fruity. I will say that I had just brushed my teeth before I went over to their home and my first few sips were bitter because of it. I had to eat something to clear my palate! But once I did I was in pure heaven for two whole glasses.

Too bad more wineries are not producing biodynamic wine. People are getting more and more interested in pure products so I could see these wines becoming quite popular. And wine is something very interesting to be "organic" since so many different flavors can be incorporated to make a unique wine.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am a chardonnay girl too, I love the crisp chilled fullness. I will keep my eye out for this!

Anonymous said...

Greg is one sharp winemaker and his wines are of the style I think of as "serious". I had a personal tour of his facility and tasting a couple of years ago.

I hadn't realized until very recently that one of his Chardonnay's was made from biodynamically grown grapes. If you visit Healdsburg someday, Tandem now has a tasting room inside of Plaza Farms.