The focus is on farming in this week's flights. We are offering a trio of Biodynamic red wines for $6, or three Biodynamic whites for $7. All are exceedingly tasty, and quite healthful if used properly. I tend to think solely about flavor when drinking a wine, but it is nice to know the fruit for these wines was raised right and contains no dubious substances. Want to know more about Biodynamics? Read on...

3 Things About Biodynamics…

1. What is It?... The system of Biodynamic agriculture is based on a series of lectures given by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in 1924, but includes techniques and philosophies that were in use long before they were organized under this name. Biodynamics is a method of agriculture which seeks to actively work with the health-giving forces of nature, and build a farm to work as its own ecosystem or organism. The more self-sustaining a farm becomes, the better the quality of its products. People, animals, insects, plants and land co-exist beneficially and harmoniously. Biodynamics is the oldest non-chemical agricultural movement, predating the organic agriculture movement by some twenty years and has now spread throughout the world.

2. In the Vineyards… Biodynamics recognizes that great wine starts in the vineyard, and caring for the soil is where it all begins. The grape vines capture the terroir with their roots and leaves to create wines of diversity. No herbicides, insecticides, or chemical fertilizers are used, but organic enrichment of the soil is a fundamental practice. All the grapes are hand picked, which is not simply a Biodynamic practice but an important part of better wines.

3. In the Cellar… Practicing natural vinification is basically the art of noninterference or minimal manipulation… no commercial yeasts are used, no chemical additives, no acidification or adding of sugar (chaptalization). The wines are often unfined and unfiltered, as a method of maximizing their complexity immediately and as they age. To achieve balance, none of the new technologies are used. The attempt is to create what one winemaker called, "true wines with original taste and complete transparency."