When we hear a pop of a cork being extracted from a bottle, we all start to salivate in anticipation of that first sip. This excitement is followed by the sound of wine pouring into a glass as the light reflects the bright liquid gold of a Chardonnay or the deep cherry hue of a Pinot Noir. After we clink glasses to cheers, we are finally rewarded with the delicious taste of the wine. If you are a wine lover, then this is an experience you’ve enjoyed many times. And if you are new to wine, this might be an experience you are just embarking on.

No matter your relationship with wine, the pop of the cork is a shared experience of exhilaration. But what if we told you that what lies beyond the cork is not always the same? Each bottle houses a story, and the grapes grown to make the wine can tell an even bigger story. Just as purchasing an organic apple vs. a conventional apple has a different taste, look, and feel, so do the wines we love to enjoy based on how the grapes are grown.

That’s where biodynamic viticulture or grape growing comes into play. Biodynamic agriculture is a whole farm approach, that combines intense natural practices commonly found in organic farming along with the addition of unique preparations intended to stimulate plant and biological life as well as to bring the farm into balance with the natural rhythms of the earth, the sun, the moon, and the other planets. These methods of farming that were established 1924 by Rudolf Steiner.

“Biodynamic agriculture is a way of living, working and relating to nature and the vocations of agriculture based on good common-sense practices, a consciousness of the uniqueness of each landscape, and the inner development of each and every practitioner” (quote from the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association). Today, the Demeter Association is the only certifier for biodynamic farms, and sets the standards to earn this certification based on a winery’s commitment to nurturing the whole ecosystem to improve the health of the vineyards that offers biodiversity in soil fertility and the sustainable management of pests, weeds, water, and potential disease.

At its core, grape growing is agriculture and one of the biggest challenges to agriculture is the amount of greenhouse emissions that are released into the atmosphere. The solution? Regenerative farming which is what biodynamic farming practices aims to achieve through integrating livestock, building compost, utilizing cover crops, and prohibiting the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.

Winderlea Wines are Biodynamic Certified

Here at Winderlea, our commitment to adopting biodynamic wines practices was important from the start. As a certified B Corporation, committed to using business as a force for good, we are accountable to more than the bottom line: we are also accountable to our environmental footprint. Adapting biodynamic vineyard practices was a logical extension of this value system to build a sustainable business. We have been farming according to Biodynamic® practices since 2009, and earned Demeter Biodynamic® Certification in 2015.

Our vineyards are located within the Dundee Hills of Oregon nestled in the Willamette Valley where we grow pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot blanc to produce limited production wines you can enjoy any day of the week.

Sip with Confidence

What does all of this mean for when you open a bottle and pour your next glass of wine? When you enjoy Winderlea wines, you can sip with confidence knowing that the truest care was put into producing our wines, in supporting the land and entire ecosystem that we touch. The next time you receive a bottle of Winderlea wine, you are doing your part to support environmentally sustainable companies, and when the pop the cork can be heard, we hope you can taste the purest expression of place.