Biodynamics

Biodynamics (from the Greek bios meaning life and dinamikòs meaning movement) is a method employed for the renewal of agriculture that is based on the principles of anthroposophy, a view developed by the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner at the beginning of the 20th century. The anthroposophical view is that a farm is an enclosed microcosm containing a variety of plants and animals. A cultural landscape, too, is a closed system involving the soil, plants and nature. Our objective as wine growers is to maintain and develop this complex ecosystem.

At the practical level this means working without chemicals and synthetic products for plant protection, i.e. herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and mineral fertilizers, and making use of the biodynamic preparations and homeopathic infusions instead. We promote biodiversity by sowing ground cover plants and planting shrubs, introducing animals into the vineyards and fertilizing the soil with compost. All these measures leads to improved soil quality and vine fertility. Our objective is always to develop and maintain a natural cycle. In the cellar we work in accordance with the strict principles of Demeter Italia.

Have you ever asked yourself what a biodynamic vineyard sounds like? Discover the world of our vineyard Römigberg.

We see a farm – and that includes a vineyard – as a living organism, as the product of a complex ecosystem, representing a microcosm in relationship to the macrocosm. By taking account of the cycles and rhythms of nature, i.e. cosmic influences like those of the sun, the moon and the stars, we can make use of their forces. That is the key to successful agriculture because then we work with and not against nature. The 21^st  century´s modern man often no longer sees nature´s the interrelationships and has lost the working knowledge that our forebears acquired through observation over the millennia.

The Living Vine - A documentary (2011) about biodynamic agriculture at the Alois Lageder Estate.