In the fall of 2004, Washington winery Cayuse Vineyards harvests Syrah, Tempranillo, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from En Chamberlin Vineyard, a 10-acre plot in the Walla Walla American Viticulture Area just west of Milton-Freewater, Oregon. Cayuse owner Christophe Baron has employed biodynamic farming methods at En Chamberlin, which he planted in 2000. After the 2004 vintage from Cayuse is released, Demeter International, the world's leading certification body, will certify En Chamberlin as the first vineyard in Washington to be 100 percent biodynamically farmed. In subsequent years, Hedges Family Estate, Domaine Pouillon, Domaine Magdalena, Wilridge Winery and others will join Cayuse as Washington practitioners of biodynamic grape farming.
Bullish on Biodynamics
Biodynamic farming was first conceptualized in the 1920s by an Austrian philosopher, Rudolph Steiner, after farmers in Central Europe voiced concerns about the declining health of their soils. According to a 2024 Washington Post story about the rise of biodynamic practices in the wine industry, "Steiner argued that a farm should be viewed as its own ecosystem with a rich biodiversity rather than a monoculture. Fertilizers and treatments for crops should be natural and drawn from within the farm, rather than using synthetics from outside. Planting and harvesting should be timed to take advantage of the gravitational effects of the sun and moon" ("Biodynamic Wine Has Roots ..."). Biodynamic farming is similar to organic farming, but biodynamics "differ by its emphasis on the farm as a living organism and the source of its own fertilizer, as well as its reliance on the lunar calendar ...
"Because of those aspects, biodynamics has been ridiculed as pseudoscience, voodoo agriculture and several unprintable descriptions. Its most famous 'preparation' involves stuffing cow horns with manure and burying them throughout the farm in the fall, then digging them up in the spring to make a tisane – a not-exactly herbal tea – to spray on the crops to promote vigor. Other preparations use chamomile and stinging nettle. The biodynamic calendar, with its reliance on the phases of the moon and root, flower, leaf and fruit days according to where the moon is in the zodiac, conjures images of hippie communes" ("Biodynamic Wine Has Roots ...").
Though biodynamic farming isn't for everyone, its practices are widely accepted in European wine countries Germany and France, where revered wine estate Domaine de la Romanee-Conti adheres to biodynamic principles at its vineyards in Burgundy. Closer to home, biodynamic farming has long been popular among growers of Pinot Noir in Oregon's Willamette Valley. In Washington, it took the arrival of a French outsider in 1996 for biodynamic farming to gain a toehold. The newcomer was Christophe Baron, "a native Champenois who made wine in half a dozen places around the world before circling for a landing in Walla Walla, then doggedly searched for land to plant until he found the rockiest, least likely, most difficult and labor-intensive soil in the region and hand-planted his Cailloux vineyard to syrah" (Gregutt, xviii).
By 2000, Baron had planted four vineyards in close proximity, including En Chamberlin, planted in 2000 to equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Tempranillo. Beginning with the 2004 vintage, En Chamberlin became the first Washington vineyard to be certified by Demeter International, an organization based in Darnmstadt, Germany, that regulates and certifies biodynamic farms. Cayuse was certified through the 2008 vintage, but the winery no longer subscribes to biodynamic certification. Cayuse does, however, continue to implement biodynamic farming methods. In 2009, Baron planted a three-acre vineyard adjacent to En Chamberlin:
"As with the other Cayuse vineyards, it is an ancient riverbed, studded heavily with large round cobblestones of granite and basalt. Prior to planting, Baron purchased a pair of draft horses, part of his ongoing commitment to establishing a fully operational biodynamic farm, including not just the vineyards but a completely self-sustaining enterprise, generating its own compost and teas from its own farm animals ... This newest vineyard is ploughed by horse, using a hand-held plough obtained from a friend in Burgundy" (Gregutt, 85).
By 2010 Cayuse had 53 acres of vines under cultivation and Baron was making a range of coveted wines, including four vineyard-designated Syrahs, a Tempranillo, a Grenache, a Cabernet Sauvignon, two Bordeaux blends, and a rosé, all sold for high prices through a sold-out mailing list. "While the ship has long since sailed with regards to getting on the mailing list," wrote The Wine Advocate, "these are singular wines well worth the effort to track down on the secondary market" ("Cayuse Vineyards: The Stones ...").
Visitors to Baron's vineyards won't find bottles of wine for purchase, but they might find chickens, pigs, sheep, cows, apple trees, cherry trees, tomato vines, cucumber vines, and rows of corn, in addition to the grape vines. "It closes the biodynamic circle by integrating animals into the farm, and shows respect for the old ways," Baron said ("Farming: In Tune With the Cosmos").
Elsewhere in Washington
Despite the success enjoyed by Baron and Cayuse, biodynamic farming has yet to gain wide appeal in Washington. By 2023, only three wineries in the state – Hedges Family Estate and Domaine Magdalena (both on Red Mountain), and Wilridge Winery in Naches Heights near Yakima – were certified biodynamic by Demeter International.
Founded in 1987 by Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges, Hedges Family Estate began converting its 103 acres of vineyards to biodynamic farming in 2008 and eventually gained biodynamic certifications from Demeter. Sarah Hedges Goedhart, daughter of the founders, became head winemaker in 2015. According to a Hedges news release, "the estate on Red Mountain seeks to harmonize with mother nature, following the biodynamic calendar, employing chickens for pest control, and opting for special compost preparations instead of harsh pesticides" ("Robert Parker Green Emblem ...").
Wilridge Winery was founded in 1988 by Seattle attorney Paul Beveridge. In 2007, Beveridge planted a biodynamically farmed estate vineyard in Naches Heights. "One of the keys to biodynamics is that the farmer is considered part of the farm," Beveridge said. "The farm is a complete organism, where there are no outside inputs. Everything is returned to the farm via composting and livestock, and the farmer is sort of the brain of the organism" ("Growing Biodynamically ..."). As of 2024, Wilridge was Washington's first and only certified organic and biodynamic vineyard, winery, and distillery.
