Former Châteauneuf-du-Pape Producer Explains the Efficacy of Biodynamic Viticulture
— An Interview with Wine Consultant Philippe Armenier —

Biodynamic viticulture was something with which I'd been vaguely familiar when I first learned about the work of wine consultant Philippe Armenier.  It was during an interview I conducted some time ago with one of his clients that I began to suspect that this once-obscure approach to winegrowing was becoming increasingly practiced among premium producers.  In fact, in turns out that Armenier has provided Biodynamic services to quite a long list of prestigious clients that includes Joseph Phelps, Grgich Hills, Opus One, Peter Michael, and Cain, among a few dozen other reputable wine brands up and down the west coast of the United States.  And yet, it's all a far cry from where the former winemaker originally hails from the south of France, where he used to make wine under his own label — that is, until he sold the property, moved to California, and devoted his time entirely to consulting on Biodynamic farming.  Since then, the expatriate's success in earning a long list of devotees has been remarkable, given that the mainstream often considers the practice to be a rather unorthodox tangent of agriculture.  Skeptics notwithstanding, it appears that evidence is growing considerably in support of its efficacy, some of which I, myself, witnessed while Armenier took me on a tour to some of his clients' vineyards in the Napa Valley.  It was there among the vines that I learned the capabilities of this rather unconventional strategy in the quest to make better wines.

Dry Creek Valley Winery Spearheads Enviable "Green Initiative"
— Spotlight on Michel-Schlumberger Winery —

"They're over there in those condos," he said with a proud, boyish smile as he pointed to some stacks of small, shallow wooden boxes a short distance away. Jay Kell, the manager of wine education and guest services at Sonoma's Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate was referring to the fairly sizable colony of bees that the winery maintains on the property. I had just arrived with my partner whom I had insisted join me on this visit, given his background in horticulture and keen interest in sustainability. Our purpose here was to embark on what the winery markets as its Green Tour, a privately escorted excursion of the vineyards, provided as way to increase customer awareness of its dedication to a myriad of biodynamic practices. One of those is the nurturing of bees, done in an effort to facilitate the pollination of other plant life supportive to the vines themselves. I soon learned that this overall philosophy, so deeply respectful of nature and its inherent ecological balance, permeates just about everything done at Michel-Schlumberger — not only in the production of the fine wines for which it's known, but also in its dedication to give back to the environment from which came the very grapes to make them.

Boutique Producer Gives Voice to the Rustic Elegance of Alexander Valley
An Interview with the Proprietor Winemakers of Garden Creek Vineyards

When we think of a garden, we're likely to imagine a small plot of land that's meticulously tended to and lovingly cared for — a testament, really, to the connection between person and plant.  Albeit on a slightly larger scale, it's with similar attention to detail and devotion to  nurturing that Karin and Justin Miller look after their own garden: the vineyards of Alexander Valley's Garden Creek Ranch and Winery.  I'd first met Justin at Sonoma County's Best of the Boutiques wine tasting event, where I was immediately struck with a palpable sense of his passion for the land and dedication to articulating its message through the handcrafting of superpremium wines with spellbinding depth and seductive complexity.  Some time thereafter, I sat down with the couple over lunch in the comfortable and candelit interior of their ranch house to talk about their vines and wines, and in doing so, discovered a singularity in their approach not only to winemaking but to living life as a whole.