Moonshine

Timing is everything in biodynamic wine growing

When a winemaker counsels others to bury dung-filled cow horns on the autumnal equinox and takes cues from the lunar calendar for everything from vineyard treatments to bottling, it's easy to dismiss his advice as hocus-pocus.

Yet an increasing number of American winemakers are calling on Frenchman Philippe Armenier for tutoring in the theories of biodynamics, an early 20th century method of farming and maintaining vineyards. Some of the world's greatest winemakers (such as France's Nicolas Joly and Lalou Leroy) firmly believe that using biodynamic methods healed their soil and vines after years of chemical mistreatment. But the bottom line is...

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