Biodynamics
Podere
San Cristoforo
Harmonising plants, animals
and the spirit of the place
Biodynamic wines are about celestial energy, cow horns and harmony between man and nature. Listening to the land and looking to the sky, allow us to support the health and vitality of the soil and achieve the best expression of terroir.
Biodynamic Wines
a a e s t h e S p e c i a l ?
What Makes them Special?
First Principle
No Chemicals
No chemicals or manufactured additions (like commercial yeast) are allowed in biodynamic wine and vineyard. In fact to promote life in the soil we have to stay away from any synthetic fertiliser, insecticide and herbicide.
Second Principle
Biodynamic Calendar
Rhythms and cycles of the moon, stars, and planets influence the growth and development of plants and animals. The biodynamic calendar provides detailed astronomical information and indications of optimal times for cultivating, harvesting and using the biodynamic preparations.
Third Principle
Biodynamic Preparations
Biodynamic viticulture requires special compost preparations that are stuffed into cow horns and buried in the soil. After few months, the cow horns are dug up and reused and the ’stuffing’ is distributed throughout the vineyard.
Fourth Principle
Happy Animals
Natural ecosystems include plants, animals, and men which work together with complementary roles. Biodynamics aspires to create the same harmony within the farm seen as a single self-sustaining organism. Animals are therefore fundamental and their well-being determines the health of all the other elements of the ecosystem.
Fifth Principle
Stronger Vines
The biodynamic spray and compost preparations bring vines into a “dynamic” relationship with soil, water, air, warmth, and cosmos to help them develop in a healthy and balanced way, access the full spectrum of nutrients they need, and become more resilient to pests, diseases, and extreme climate conditions.
Sixth Principle
Squeezed Grapes
Wines made with the lowest possible chemical or mechanical intervention: it’s a better way to drink. It’s better for the drinker, the maker, and the planet.
Podere
San Cristoforo
i n e P h i o s p h y
Wine Philosophy
Diligent viticulture is essential here, with low yields, little use of technology and a great deal of manual labor. Behind the wines of Podere San Cristoforo there’s an accurate management of the soil and of the leaf canopy -exposing the fruit to sunlight and to the wind – there are decisions regarding vineyard best sites, the optimum plant density and clonal selection. There’s attention to small details, like harvesting at night and sorting grapes by removing broken, dried or unripe berries before the fermentation.
A fine wine made with low-intervention calls for better vineyard husbandry, leading to higher quality fruit. This gives us a wine whose origin we can recognise at first sip: a wine that may not always be as perfect technically or as constant year in, year out, as those to which we may have become accustomed, but which undoubtedly displays more marked character.
