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 Stephen
Bonner came prepared with a wealth of information on organic
vineyard management and wine production. He talked about the vegan
approach, the organic approach and then the biodynamic approach.
All three approaches follow organic growing principles that include
no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and weedicides.
The vegan approach includes no use of animal products in the production,
which primarily would be during filtering the wines. Many non-organic
wineries use egg whites, which would not be used in the vegan
approach. Another deviation from the traditional organic approach
is the "biodynamic" method. This was termed by Stephen
as organic on steroids (naturally produced of course). With the
biodynamic approach, the goal is to activate the life of the soil
and vines. This is done in part by "activating sprays"
which are applied in the spring and autumn. The lunar phases also
play a role in timing of spraying. The main spray is called "500"
and is parepared with cow manure blended with various flower extracts.
This mixture is stored under ground in a cow's horn for 12 months
before being sprayed onto the earth. This spray promotes food
and water root growth, humus formation and continual microbial
activity. There are other sprays consisting of various types of
teas and fermented plants stored under ground in animal skulls.
Our reception wine was the Lurton Pinot Gris from Argentina.
This was not an organic wine, but the winemaking family, the Lurton's,
do have organic vineyards and produce organic wines in France.
This wine had a pale straw colour with light fragrances of peach
and flowers and a sweet, peachy finish on the palate. A great
buy at $11.99.
 Our
first, and only, white organic wine was the Carmen Vineyards
Nativa Chardonnay. These vines are 30 years old and in prime
production. The first organic wine was produced in 1994. The wine
had a pale straw appearance. The bouquet had citrus, and some
oak, and light toastiness. There were light citrus, pineapple
and mango flavours. There was some malolactic fermentation giving
a rich mouthfeel. This wine went well with the swordfish.
Our
first red wine was also from the Carmen winery. It was the Carmen
Vineyards Nativa Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine had a deep
red appearance. The bouquet had aromas of oak, leafiness and licorice.
The licorice flavour continued onto the palate along with dark
fruit and sour cherry. The tannins were not overly strong. This
wine went well with the pate. Stephen had indicated that this
wine was more in a European style than a New World style. The
next wine was the Vina Lomas de Cauquenes from Chile. The
grape for this wine is called pais, or sometimes the Mission grape,
giving homage to the Jesuit priests who are believed to have brought
this grape variety with them from Europe. The vines are 80-105
years old, and only covers an 8 ha area. The grapes are all hand-picked.
The wine had a camphor or licqorice bouquet, along with sour cherry.
The cherry flavour continued on the palate. Stephen also noted
a lead pencil flavour. This wine went well with the flank steak
and the cheese. The Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon was ruby
purple in appearance in the glass. The bouquet had hard to describe
aromas, but could be described as oranges, aftershave, wood smoke,
autumn forest and spice. This wine was sweet and round on the
palate.
 The
next two wines came from the Avonmore vineyard in Australia and
were produced with the biodynamic method. This is a small, family
run winery. It produces cattle, lambs, grapes and wines. The first
vines were planted in 1996 consisting of the Shiraz grapes, followed
by Cabernet Sauvignon. There are other varieties of grapes as
well. The Avonmore Vineyard Shiraz had BIG fruit. It was
ruby red in the glass. One smelled cedar, oak, cherries, plums
and black current. There was flavours of sweet cherries, vanilla
and cedar on the palate. This was a full-bodied, yet elegant wine.
One wine that could stand up against any other traditionally produced
Australian Shiraz. The Avonmore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
was also ruby purple in the glass. The bouquet had cherries, sweet
oak, nutmeg and cinnamon. There were flavours of dark fruit and
vanilla. The tannins were medium in strength. This wine could
handle 3-5 years of aging to reach it's potential. This wine went
well with the pate.
 Our
last two wines came from the Rozendal winery in the Stellenbosch
region of South Africa. Rozendal has been farming organically
since 1994
and have for the past two years been using the biodynamic approach
in both their winemaking and farming. The grapes are grown on
a 6 ha plot of land. The wine consists of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
and Cabernet Franc grapes. The 1998 Rozendal has a slight
brickish appearance. The bouquet was of black tea, as well as
a clay/dustiness. The wine was very smooth with a medium body.
It had some cherry flavours. It went very nice with the cheeses.
Stephen felt that this wine may be at it's peak now. The 2001
Rozendal is still very youthful, but could afford 10 years
of aging potential to produce a fine wine such as from the 1998
vintage. This wine was purple ruby in the glass. The bouquet had
capsicum, sweetness, cherries, raspberries and floral notes. There
were medium tannins to this wine and sour cherry flavours. This
wine went well with the pate and with the risotto.
 Tasting
Selection
Our favourite red wines were:
1) Avonmore Vineyard Shiraz, Australia 2001
2) Avonmore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia 2001
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