While I may be a skeptic when it comes to BioD practices like this…

Weeds are combated by collecting seeds from the weeds and burning them above a wooden flame. The ashes from the seeds are then spread on the fields, which will according to biodynamic philosophy block the influence from the full moon on the particular weed and make it infertile. (link)

…I have no doubt that terroir itself is a real phenomena. In our area, the obvious thing that we point to as a factor in making our wines taste different than those grown elsewhere is the fog that spills out of the Petaluma gap. It coats our vines in the morning and then slowly recedes, allowing the warm sun to ripen our grapes to (near) perfection (in a good year).

LA Times wine writer Rod Smith wrote a wonderful piece on the terroir of the Russian River Valley without ever actually using the word. It’s a great read and I highly recommend it to those intrepid aficionados of wines that taste of place.

And while I respect very much those in search of meaning and spirituality in their agriculture, my own spirituality is of the more mundane variety. Instead of manure horns and Red Deer bladders, what I need (and don’t find often enough) is a few unhurried, quiet moments alone in prayer.

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