Study and careerWinemaking & vineyard
Biodynamic wine: where it came from and what it means today
Rudolf Steiner's 1924 lectures, the nine preparations, the planting calendar and the Demeter and Biodyvin labels: what biodynamic wine really is, and what science says about it.
Updated October 2026
Rewritten by Alper Billik, Advanced Sommelier
5 min read
Cow horns buried in the vineyard, teas made from nettles, work timed by the moon. Biodynamics sounds strange the first time you hear about it. Yet famous estates, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti among them, farm this way. Here is what it is, where it came from, and what we actually know about it.
The short answer: biodynamic wine comes from vineyards farmed by biodynamic rules: organic farming plus nine special preparations, a view of the farm as one living whole, and work timed to a planting calendar. It goes back to lectures given by Rudolf Steiner in 1924. Look for the Demeter or Biodyvin logo to know a wine is certified.
Where it came from
In June 1924, at Koberwitz in Silesia (today Kobierzyce, in Poland), the Austrian-born philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), founder of anthroposophy, gave eight lectures to farmers who were worried about their soils and crops. This Agriculture Course is the root of biodynamics. The Demeter trademark, still the best-known biodynamic label, was registered in 1928.
The calendar came later. Maria Thun (1922–2012), a German biodynamic grower, spent decades testing sowing times against the moon's path through the constellations. Her calendar, published every year since the 1960s, sorts days into root, leaf, flower and fruit days. Many growers use it to time their work, and some wine lovers use it to choose when to open a bottle.
The nine preparations
| Number | Preparation | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | Horn manure | Cow manure packed into a cow horn and buried over winter, then stirred into water and sprayed on the soil |
| 501 | Horn silica | Ground quartz packed into a horn and buried over summer, then sprayed as a fine mist on the plants |
| 502 to 507 | Yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle, oak bark, dandelion, valerian | The six compost preparations, added to the compost heap |
| 508 | Horsetail | A tea sprayed in the vineyard, used by growers against fungal disease |
- 500
- PreparationHorn manure
- How it is usedCow manure packed into a cow horn and buried over winter, then stirred into water and sprayed on the soil
- 501
- PreparationHorn silica
- How it is usedGround quartz packed into a horn and buried over summer, then sprayed as a fine mist on the plants
- 502 to 507
- PreparationYarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle, oak bark, dandelion, valerian
- How it is usedThe six compost preparations, added to the compost heap
- 508
- PreparationHorsetail
- How it is usedA tea sprayed in the vineyard, used by growers against fungal disease
Horn manure and horn silica are stirred rhythmically in water before spraying. Demeter says the use of horn silica is a key requirement on every Demeter farm. The idea behind it all: the farm is a self-sustaining organism, with its own compost, animals and plant life, rather than a factory fed from outside.
Organic, biodynamic, natural: the difference
| Organic | Biodynamic | Natural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who sets the rules | The law (EU, USDA and others) | Private standards such as Demeter and Biodyvin | No legal definition, except France's voluntary Vin Méthode Nature label |
| In the vineyard | No synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers | Organic, plus the preparations, the calendar and the whole-farm idea | Usually organic or biodynamic, picked by hand |
| In the cellar | Organic winemaking rules, lower sulphite limits | Demeter also sets winemaking rules | Nothing added, little or no sulphite |
- Who sets the rules
- OrganicThe law (EU, USDA and others)
- BiodynamicPrivate standards such as Demeter and Biodyvin
- NaturalNo legal definition, except France's voluntary Vin Méthode Nature label
- In the vineyard
- OrganicNo synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers
- BiodynamicOrganic, plus the preparations, the calendar and the whole-farm idea
- NaturalUsually organic or biodynamic, picked by hand
- In the cellar
- OrganicOrganic winemaking rules, lower sulphite limits
- BiodynamicDemeter also sets winemaking rules
- NaturalNothing added, little or no sulphite
More on the third column in natural wine vs regular wine.
How to know a wine is biodynamic
- Demeter: the original biodynamic label, registered in 1928 and used for food as well as wine.
- Biodyvin: an association of biodynamic wine growers founded in 1995, with 235 member estates in 2026, mostly in France but also in Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and elsewhere. Members are inspected every year by the certifier Ecocert, and only estates farmed entirely biodynamically, or converting within three years, are accepted.
- No logo? Some growers farm biodynamically without certification. Ask the shop or the producer.
Biodynamic producers to know
All of these are Biodyvin members (checked October 2026):
- Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy. See why DRC is so famous.
- Clos de Tart, Morey-Saint-Denis, Burgundy.
- Domaine Zind-Humbrecht and Domaine Marcel Deiss, Alsace.
- Domaine Huet, Vouvray, Loire.
- Domaine Vacheron, Sancerre. See the best Sancerre producers.
- Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac, Bordeaux.
- Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, Pfalz, Germany.
Does it work? What the science says
A field trial on Riesling at Hochschule Geisenheim in Germany compared the systems over three growing seasons (Döring and colleagues, PLOS ONE, 2015). Organic and biodynamic vines grew less and yielded less than conventionally managed ones, but fruit quality was not affected by the farming system. There was no yield difference between organic and biodynamic, and the researchers concluded that the biodynamic preparations had little influence on vine growth and yield.
So the moon and the cow horns are not proven to change the grapes. My take as a sommelier: the strongest argument for biodynamics is the attention it demands. A grower who walks every row, makes their own compost and watches the soil is usually a grower who makes careful wine.
What it means in your glass
A biodynamic logo doesn't promise a flavour, and it doesn't make wine healthier: it is still wine. It tells you how the vineyard was farmed and that someone checked. Many people buy it because they like that story and the care behind it. That is a perfectly good reason. Wine is a feeling as much as a product.
Questions people ask
Is biodynamic wine organic?
Yes in practice: biodynamic farming builds on organic farming, with no synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers, and then adds its own preparations and calendar.
Who invented biodynamic farming?
It goes back to Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture Course, eight lectures given at Koberwitz in June 1924. The Demeter label followed in 1928.
Is biodynamic wine better?
Not automatically. A trial at Geisenheim found no difference in fruit quality between farming systems. Many biodynamic estates make superb wine, but the grower's care and the site matter more than the logo.
Does biodynamic wine have sulphites?
Usually yes. Biodynamic standards allow sulphites in limited amounts set by the certifier. If you want none added, look for “no added sulphites” on the label.
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