North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Claude Jolicoeur <cjoli@gmc.ulaval.ca>]

A 21:51 09.08.31 -0400, vous avez écrit :
>It's >how< the vines "suffer" that makes the difference.  A severe
nutrient imbalance is going to give you sick vines and crappy wine.
However, lean, but balanced conditions that discourage rampant growth
(limiting water and nitrogen, for instance) tends to boost soluble solids
(aka sugars, Brix) and secondary metabolites that are more likely to result
in superior wine.
>
>Anton

I agree and the same applies to cider. The best ciders will often come from
orchards with no fertilisation and low nitrogen level, the apples will be
smaller than commercially grown apples but will contain more sugar and flavor.

Anyone interested by biodynamics will eventually see the name of Rudolph
Steiner who wrote many books on the subject. A google search on this name
will lead to many interesting articles. Personnally, I don't follow
biodynamics rules, essentially because I am sceptical and I don't have the
time. 

However, I don't see any reason my ciders would not be as good as they are
if I followed biodynamics rules. Would it be better? I don't know. One
thing for sure, a person making wine or cider while following biodynamics
rules would certainly be a very involved person that wants to make the best
possible product - profit would be secondary. And this, in my view, may
explain why some wines made from biodynamically grown vines are so great.

Claude Jolicoeur
Quebec