Those who use the highest form of organic farming say it's good for the land, and the wine

Biodynamics is considered the highest form of organic farming: It eschews chemicals and pays attention to all the cycles of vines, plants, animals and microorganisms.

For Mike Benziger of Benziger Family Winery, farming biodynamically is about making great wine, maintaining a healthy growing environment and building a level of trust with a wary generation of wine aficionados.

"A lot of people who are interested in biodynamics are younger people between the ages of 25 and 35, maybe 40 years old," he said. "They are very sensitive about being marketed to or sold to and they're very sensitive about the truth.

"The real story is about engaging nature in the process to grow grapes. We farm in a way that makes these ecologies healthier and more vibrant. Because our vines are very healthy, they're freed up to absorb the uniqueness and flavors of this place."

Certified biodynamic at his 85-acre property in Glen Ellen since 2000, Benziger also buys grapes from a variety of other growers to support all of his wines.

"Very quickly, (customers) ask me, 'Are all your vineyards farmed this way? Are all your wines made biodynamically?' "

Because the answer for the past six years has had to be no -- only a small percentage of Benziger wines are currently certified biodynamic -- Benziger and his crew, notably longtime vineyard foreman Joaquin Corona, have embarked on a project to encourage all of their growers to farm sustainably.

The program is called Farming for Flavors and all 45 of Benziger's growers, most of them based in Sonoma County, are taking part.

"By 2008, our entire portfolio will be independently, third-party certified either biodynamic, organic or sustainable," said Benziger. "That's what our customers are demanding."

That demand is part of a burgeoning movement toward eating and drinking more sustainably across the board, with more and more people paying attention to what they put in their body, and how growing practices affect the environment.

"Wine is so quality-oriented," Benziger said. "People are much more cued in to very slight quality variations in flavor and aroma, differences that can be effected by farming practice."

But Benziger believes there's also something deeper at work.

"People are so disconnected from the environment, they feel disenfranchised," he said. "When they taste a biodynamic wine and they understand a bit about the principles behind biodynamics, they get a little taste of being reconnected with nature again."

Developed by Austrian scientist Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s, the biodynamic philosophy, as it relates to grape growing, means treating the soil as a living organism and working to bring the grapevine and the earth into balance.

The Demeter Association, the international body that awards biodynamic certification, describes it further: "A management approach that understands the vineyard as a self-contained individuality ... managed as a living organism ... (and) a high degree of self-sufficiency in all the realms of biological survival."

This includes understanding what Demeter terms both tangible and intangible forces: "Examples of such 'forces' include the climate, inherent wildlife of the earth (above and below ground), light and warmth from the sun and the focusing of even more distant cosmic influences."

Thus, biodynamic farmers incorporate lunar and cosmic cycles in deciding when to plant, prune, water and harvest.

Helping Benziger to figure this all out is Alan York, a prominent biodynamics expert who has consulted to many Northern California wineries.

"We don't say biodynamic wines are better," York said to a standing-room-only crowd at a recent Biodynamics Forum in San Francisco. "We try to say and show that they are authentic to the site where they are grown, and reveal the passion of the people involved."

As always with wine, biodynamic or otherwise, site is supreme.

"Fine wine is always a question of superior site with the right understanding of the varietals that grow there," said York. "(Biodynamic growers) are not exempt from that."

He added that it takes a certain state of mind for a grower to develop the laser-like focus needed to truly understand how nature works, a focus that, when trained on the right site, is worth every effort.

"You can taste that raised level of consciousness," said York.

Paul Dolan of Mendocino Wine Co. agreed: "There is value in biodynamics for the consumer because you have to be close to your vineyard."

The payoff for Benziger is real.

"We have no problem selling any of our biodynamic wines," he said. "Even though they're really expensive. Tribute sells for $80, we have a sauvignon blanc that sells for $30, no problem. From the research I've seen, the consumer is willing to pay more provided the quality is there."

The Benziger property boasts a vibrant insectory, where bees, spider mites, pirate bugs and others thrive amid a natural habitat. From there, they zoom down vineyard rows, preying on pests, eliminating the need for commercial pesticides.

Chickens -- "perpetual motion machines," Benziger calls them -- are let loose among the vines to scratch, peck and turn the land.

So will the 20-35 sheep soon to join the property, who will mow tall cover crops as they help incorporate them deeper into the soil, adding to its vitality.

Used cow horns are packed with cow manure or ground quartz and buried for a time. When they are dug up, their respective contents are stirred into a liquid base to be sprayed on the soil (in the case of manure) and the vines (quartz).

The manure promotes root activity while the quartz both toughens leaves and boosts their ability to photosynthesize. Benziger likes to spray the quartz a few weeks before harvest, "when the grape is developing its most delicate flavors. Sunlight produces flavors and aromas."

Benziger also keeps cows on the property that supply manure to build compost, another key to soil health.

"We use all the grape cuttings, cuttings from the landscaping, all of the waste from the winery, sediment from the barrels, pumice, kitchen waste, everything is recycled through the compost," Benziger said, creating a closed nutrient system, an integral component of biodynamics.

The main difference between conventional farming and biodynamics, he explained, is that in biodynamics, man leaves much of the work to nature, helping the natural systems to become self-regulating.

"What people usually say about biodynamic wines is they have a clarity to them," Benziger said. "That the aromas and flavors and textural qualities of the wine are seamless, and that makes sense because in practicing biodynamics, the natural environment and the farmed environment merge into one."

You can reach Staff Writer Virginie Boone at 521-5440 or vboone@pressdemocrat.com.