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part 8: the consultants Perhaps the most common way for a vigneron to make the transition
from conventional or organic viticulture to biodynamics is by hiring a consultant, and Jacques Mell
may well be the first flying biodynamic consultant in Europe. At any
one time he consults for around 25 growers, and in addition to his
contracts in France, he currently has three clients in Italy, although
he can’t give names because of confidentiality clauses (one is based
in Brescia, one in Verona and Sicily, and the third is in Etna). Trained as a lawyer, Mell discovered organic agriculture in
1967 through his involvement in beekeeping, and then found biodynamics
10 years later. He formed his own consultancy in 1989. At this time
there were only six winegrowers who practiced biodynamics in France;
now he estimates that there are over 100 (Demeter alone currently have
56 certified vignerons on their books). Mell deals with general
agriculture as well as winegrowing, although it's the latter that is
currently growing fastest. To hire his services would cost
some €1500 a year, which seems reasonable. ‘My aim is to make it
affordable’, Mell explains. ‘It is not just something for the rich
farmers’. He is also the secretary of Demeter in France. Mell is keen to point out that this is the first time in history that people have had the choice between three types of agriculture: conventional (with its reliance on chemicals), organics and biodynamics. ‘It is very interesting’, says Mell, ‘because each can choose in complete freedom.’ He’s seeing more conversion to biodynamics in wine growing than general agriculture. ‘9 out of 10 people who change to it are wine growers’, he points out. One of Mell’s clients is Francis Boulard of Champagne
Raymond Boulard. Boulard is not yet fully biodynamic, but he has been
curious enough to experiment with part of his production (last year,
2002, around 1 hectare) to see what difference biodynamics makes. Two years
in to this trial, he has noted consistent improvements in the plot he
has farmed this way, and he plans to continue with it. Boulard tells me that he is one of the growers
participating in a five year trial that has was initiated in spring
2002 by the CIVC (the official body that looks after the Champagne
region). They are systematically comparing three different
viticultural regimes: organic, lutte raisonée (an integrated approach
with limited, selectively targeted chemical inputs) and biodynamics.
According to Boulard, the CIVC are taking samples of soils and grapes,
and then comparing finished wines. It will be fascinating to see the
results of this experiment, but the CIVC won’t comment on it until
all the results are in. I asked Mell why there is still a reliance on copper
fungicide treatments in biodynamics. Isn't that admitting that
biodynamics doesn't work properly if chemical means are still needed
to combat disease? His explanation was as graphic as
it was unusual. ‘In vineyards, vines are usually there for many
years. There is no crop rotation. If you grow a plant yourself and use
your own excrement to fertilize it the plant will eventually become
ill and you will become ill also if you eat it. Vines stay in the same
soil year after year so they are living on their own excrement. They
become feeble because there is no reviving of the soil, and this
weakens them. They are in a state of weakness where they are liable to
attack.’ There are a number of biodynamic consultants at work, not
just in Europe but also in the USA – Alan York is probably the most
visible for his work in California. Frequently, though, biodynamics
spreads through personal contact between growers. As one adopts it,
and finds that it works, then they share their knowledge with other
growers who take an interest in this new way of growing. Either way,
biodynamics seems to be growing as a movement, driven largely by the
enthusiasm of both individual growers and also consultants like
Jacques Mell. Other topics in this series
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