Biodynamics at Gemtree Vineyards, McLaren Vale

On a cool Vancouver evening a month so ago, I was sipping on a rich glass of shiraz viognier from Gemtree Vineyards. I’d finished up a day of working in a vineyard outside the city, and was really really enjoying the fruits of someone else’s labour. Reclining in my Ikea Poang, I was watching the street from my third floor apartment. In between rounds of interesting, attractive and bizarre passersby, I poured another glass of wine and read over the back of the bottle.

The bottle write-up notes that winery family member Melissa Brown is Gemtree’s viticulturist. Having just started work in the same vocation, I had to send a note out to Melissa to hear her views on the vines at Gemtree. Come to find out, Gemtree has begun to practice a method of vineyard agriculture called biodynamics. I heard of this concept prior, and (sort of) knew that biodynamics involved moon cycles and perhaps some alternative ground fertilization methods.

I’ll let you do the extra research into the myths and truths about biodynamics, and will let Melissa explain biodynamics at Gemtree Wines: 

Me:  What does biodynamic mean to you? 

Melissa:  To me, biodynamic means farming our land in a more sustainable way that is having minimal negative impact on the environment.  Biodynamic is a means of organic farming that requires added input of biodynamic operations and timing certain activities with the lunar cycle. Biodynamics is about improving soil health and fertility which translates to healthier vines and better quality fruit.

What were the factors at play when Gemtree decided to begin biodynamic practices? Who ‘brought it up’ first?

Mike [Gemtree's winemaker and Melissa's husband] attended a seminar on Shiraz in the Barossa Valley a few years ago and one of the workshops he attended was on biodynamic wines.  We had already started to convert the vineyard to organic practices at this time.  Mike came back from that seminar singing the praises of biodynamic wines and convinced me that this was the path we should take. It wasn’t hard to convince me as I had already heard about it but thought the rest of the family would think I was crazy if I tried to implement it!  I consider myself to be a bit of an environmentalist.  I choose to eat organic foods over conventional produce and I also grow my own veggies organically at home.  If you had the option to eat an organically grown tomato over a hydroponically grown chemically treated one which would you choose?  It didn’t make sense that I was living my life by this philosophy and then nuking our vineyards!

What’s involved in becoming biodynanmic certified in South Australia? 

Biodynamic certification comes under the banner of organic certification and there are national bodies that govern this.  We are in the process of registering to become certified.  It will take 1 year before we are considered to be in conversion and then a further 2 years to be fully certified.  We will be going with ACO (Australian Certified
Organic).

Do you find that many other South Australian / McLaren Vale vineyards are going biodynamic?

There are quite a few vignerons in McLaren Vale going down the organic and biodynamic path now.  Paxton Vineyards have been biodynamic for some time now and Battle of Bosworth Wines are certified organic. The more publicity and success that biodynamic businesses have I think the more that people will be prepared to give it a go.  There is a real fear of the unknown with biodynamics but its actually really easy, particularly in a region like McLaren Vale that has such a good climate for growing grapes.  Having said that, it is a big learning curve though, and a new challenge that we are really enjoying.

There is a trial underway at Gemtree by an Adelaide Uni pHd student. The trial is the 1st of its kind in Australia and is comparing biodynamic, organic, low input conventional and high input conventional viticulture on a patch of our Cabernet Sauvignon.  The trial is being run over 3 years with a focus on soil health, yield, wine quality and comparison of costs.  Many people will be very interested in the results of this trial.

What sort of training did you go through to become a viticulturist?

I started working on my dad’s vineyard as a vineyard labourer - training vines, installing irrigation, etc.  While working I undertook part-time studies in a Bachelor of Science (Viticulture) at Charles Sturt University via distance education which took me 7 years to complete!  It was a great way to learn though as I could immediately apply my knowledge.

Have you encountered many other female viticulturists in the  industry?

There are probably more female winemakers than female viticulturists but we are gradually increasing in numbers! Rachel Steer from Chapel Hill Winery in McLaren Vale is someone I hold in high regard as well as Prue Henschke from Henschke in the Barossa.  The partnership that Mike and I share as winemaker and viticulturist is fairly rare and unique I think.