“Everything is connected,” explains Fetzer. “Air, light, water, soil, the sun, the moon, and the plants. Our mission is to use the best methods for enabling all the elements to work together, to produce the best results for the grapes, the land, the animals who live on the land, the people who work on the land, and the people who drink the wine.”

On a biodynamic vineyard, planting, composting, weeding and harvesting are scheduled by the lunar calendar and celestial positions. Leaf sprays, used for treating and reinforcing the vines, are made from the juices of crushed flowers. Vines are trained to grow in such an egalitarian way that their leaves avoid shading one another. Pest control is managed by owls and butterflies. And virtually every substance used in the agricultural process is generated on the property itself—promoting self-contained, self-sustaining land.

While the unconventional aspects of biodynamic agriculture may seem a little bit out there to some, the practices are anything but haphazard. Certification agencies apply strict standards. Tests have shown that biodynamic compost is bursting with grape-nurturing nutrients—much more than organic compost. The resulting grapes have tested higher in sugar than other grapes, with more anthocyanins —the wine grape’s healthful fruit pigments. Biodynamically grown vines