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Photo by Mary Fish
Striving for Balance - Quivira and Biodynamic Farming
At Quivira Vineyards & Winery we are united in a single goal: to create wines that reflect the character of our estate. We feel Biodynamic farming is the purest pathway to that end. At our winery, Biodynamic guidelines set forth by Demeter serve as an important starting point as we seek ways to apply sustainable, holistic practices to everything we do.
Biodynamic farming is a philosophy that treats a farm - in our case, a vineyard farm - as a self-sustaining system responsible for creating and maintaining its individual health and vitality without external or unnatural additions. When we recycle back into the earth everything that has come from it, over time we enchance a vineyard's unique characteristics. The result is wine that truly embodies its place of origin.
How it Works
Biodynamic farming respects the natural rhythms of plants as they respond to the sun and the seasons. Working with the timing and forces of nature instead of against them produces better results. Throughout the year we apply Biodynamic preparations, (made from cow manure, silica or teas of certain plants), to the soil to enhance the natural forces that are at work. We see a clear improvement in our soil and vines as a result.
One of the major goals of Biodynamics is a healthy earth. Instead of using synthetic fertilizers, we use compost and cover crops to add organic material that feeds the vines. By composting winery residue and effectively using cover crops we can return most of the fertility of the property to the soil. In this way the unique characteristics of a particular site grow more pronounced over time.
Biodynamic farming practices help create healthy porous soils which allow water, gases and nutrients to penetrate deep into the soil strata. This fosters strong, wide, deep root growth that enables the vines to absorb elements from the soil and transfer them as flavors to the fruit.
We find that timely cultivation using specially designed "sweeps" (that slide under the soil surface) instead of discs (that powder and dry out the soil) results in noticeably healthier cover crops and better-drained vineyards. Surprisingly, this has resulted in dramatic decrease in water stress in the vines and has materially lessened the need for irrigation in some vineyard blocks.
In conventional viticulture, the health of the soil is often compromised in the desire for a weed-free vineyard floor. Synthetic herbicides are used which affect far more than just the weeds they kill. At Quivira, instead of chemicals, we use a "hoe plow" to smother most of the in-row weeds. The rest are removed by hand. Between rows, weeds are controlled by the mown cover crop or by tilling the soil. (Elsewhere on the property, our small herd of goats does the job quite well!)
While Biodynamic farming allows for the use of sulfur to control mildew and disease, our experiments show that diluted milk or whey is as effective (and possibly more) and has the advantage of being completely inert.
Biodynamics, in addition to encapsulating the techniques described above, prescribes many practices that fall under a more spiritual, even mystical heading. These practices, some of which are guided by the lunar and celestial calendar, seem to defy explanation: while modern science can't quantify how they work, they appear to have a profound influence on the health of our vines, the fruit these vines produce and the finished wines.
Biodynamics and Sustainability Beyond the Vineyard
Biodynamics is, at its heart, a system that demands personal involvement and participation. We believe that it is only through the passion of the people and their intimate interaction with the land that true originality, authenticity and distinction can be achieved in the wines. We feel this creates a genuine path of quality differentiation for a small artisan winery like ours. It is truly a way of life and it requires real commitment. By "treading lightly" on the land and being good stewards we are respecting the land that supports us.
Being good stewards means thinking carefully and acting thoughtfully about air, light and water. A 55kW solar electric system has supplied 100% of Quivira's energy needs since 2005. This "clean" energy completely replaces the use of conventional power and saves the atmosphere from hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide that would have been released during its generation. We've reduced our water usage thanks to a steam cleansing machine that uses 98% less water than does traditional barrel cleansing and soaking routines.
Because biodiversity is the key to balance and self-regulation, we also plant special insectory areas on the property to attract birds and insects of all types. Around the vineyard, you can also find bat and bluebird houses. Quivira is home to predatory birds such as hawks, owls and osprey as well as a growing group of farm animals. Quivira keeps honeybees on the property to pollinate the orchards and vegetables and as a way to harvest honey.
For the past eight years, we have been working with the California Department of Fish and Game and other organizations to restore Wine Creek for its native steelhead and Coho salmon population. Our restoration project has led to a recent partnership with Trout Unlimited called Water and Wine, meant to encourage local wineries and landowners to engage in creek restoration and water management issues.
Our estate includes a Biodynamic and organic garden used to help educate visitors on farming and viticultural practices as well as supply local markets with fresh produce. The garden includes 120 raised beds, a Biodynamic prep tower, pond, greenhouse and chicken coop. Due to its proximity to our winery and tasting room, this garden area offers visitors the chance to witness up close the unique elements and unusual techniques that go into Biodynamic farming.
Quivira Biodynamic Information
Quivira started farming using these principles in 2002 and received its organic and Biodynamic certifications in November of 2005.
Winemaker Steven Canter and Alan York, a noted Biodynamic and Viticultural Specialist, pruning vines at Wine Creek ranch on Quivira’s 90- acre estate. |
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We have an integrated pest management plan which controls weeds and other Invasives by non-mechanical means exclusively.
Perennial Calendula and Wild Oats planted amongst the rows of Petite Sirah vines to encourage Beneficials- the "good" bugs which destroy the "bad bugs" |
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Quivira uses only organic fertilizers and absolutely no synthetic chemicals. We compost all of our winery waste for use in our vineyards to promote biodiversity in and around our vineyards.
Cow horns are filled with organic cow manure and buried at Winter Equinox. They are dug up at Summer Equinox and the dehydrated, powdery mixture is used to create a fertilizer "tea" for the vineyards. |
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More about Certification
Quivira Demeter Certified Biodynamic® Farm Certificate (PDF)
Demeter Association
Quivira Organic Certificate (PDF)
Om Organics: www.omorganics.org
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