What is Biodynamic Wine?

"Nicolas Joly is right: he is not a winemaker. He is a thinker, a talker and an idealist, with a captivating passion for his work. His wine is simply the end result of a much greater process." - DECANTER

"Under Joly's biodynamic care, this historic vineyard produces one of the most distinctive and expressive wines of the Loire." - WINE AND SPIRIT

"Coulée de Serrant... among the most distinctive wines today..." - WINE SPECTATOR

Nicolas Joly is responsible for producing some of the finest and most highly esteemed wines of France at his CoulÉe de Serrant vineyard. Practising the biodynamic method of agriculture - sometimes referred to as 'premium organic' - he is at the forefront of a movement to return to the concept of terroir, as full expression and embodiment of a particular grape-growing locality, or appelation.

Today even expensive wines, made under strictly regulated controls and standards, are tainted by the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and manipulated in the cellar through the use of osmosis and the additions of aromatic yeasts and enzymes. To counter such trends, a new 'Charter of Quality', run by organic and biodynamic viticulturists, guarantees that the appelation comes to full, authentic expression. To aid this process, biodynamic winegrowers like Joly use special planting methods and preparations that enhance and invigorate the soil, bringing it into harmony with the forces of sun, moon and cosmos to embed the vine in a rich, living context.

NICOLAS JOLY, born in 1945, has been working with biodynamics for over 25 years, and is widely recognized as one of France's foremost winemakers. Following his studies at Columbia University, he joined JP Morgan in New York. He was posted to London, but left in 1977 to run his family's vineyard, Coulée de Serrant. Having worked with modern agriculture and observed its negative effects on nature, he came across a book on biodynamic farming and began experimenting, fascinated by the ideas he found there. Later, he discovered and connected with a movement based on the work of the founder of biodynamics, Rudolf Steiner. He faced much opposition until the end of the 1990s, when the quality of his wines, with their unique and authentic appellations, spoke for themselves. Nicholas Joly now teaches around the world as one of the pioneers of biodynamic viticulture. May 2007; 128pp; 21.5 x 13.5 cm; pb.