I once met a winemaker in Priorat who buried cow horns filled with manure in his vineyard to “harness cosmic energy.” He said it with a straight face, like this was the most obvious thing in the world. No irony. No hesitation. Meanwhile, I was still processing the fact that a man in his sixties had just casually dropped the phrase “cosmic energy” into a wine conversation.
This is biodynamic winemaking. A little bit science, a little bit medieval farming handbook, and a whole lot of faith. Some swear by it. Others roll their eyes so hard they almost pull a muscle. Either way, it’s growing in Spain, and depending on who you ask, it’s either revolutionizing winemaking or just a very elaborate way to farm.
Organic Wine: The Basics (No Magic Required)
Organic winemaking is simple: don’t mess with nature more than necessary. No synthetic pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, no lab-made herbicides. Just vines, soil, and patience. Spain has been doing this long before the word “organic” started showing up on supermarket labels. With its dry climate and relentless sun, vineyards in places like La Mancha, Jumilla, and Rueda don’t need much intervention. Pests and mildew don’t thrive here the way they do in damper regions, so a lot of winemakers never saw the point in chemical farming in the first place.
Biodynamic Wine: The Cult of the Cow Horn
Biodynamic takes organic principles and dials them up to a mystical level. You still avoid chemicals, but now you also have to follow a cosmic calendar, plant and harvest according to lunar cycles, and occasionally fill a cow horn with manure, bury it underground, then dig it up months later to use as fertilizer. Yes, really.
The whole system was dreamed up in the 1920s by an Austrian philosopher named Rudolf Steiner, who had a lot of opinions about soil health, spiritual energy, and agriculture’s connection to the cosmos. His followers took notes. A century later, winemakers all over the world are still debating whether it’s brilliant or bonkers.
Some of the more… unusual biodynamic practices include:
- Timing vineyard work based on planetary movements.
- Fermenting herbal teas and spraying them onto vines for “balance.”
- Treating the vineyard like a living organism that reacts to energy, not just soil nutrients.
Skeptics say it’s a rebranded version of ancient farming superstition. Supporters claim the wines taste better. And honestly? Sometimes they do.
Does It Actually Matter?
Strip away the astrology charts and cow horn rituals, and biodynamic winemaking is essentially hyper-organic farming. No monoculture. No shortcuts. Just vines growing in a natural ecosystem. Whether that’s because of cosmic forces or just old-fashioned good vineyard management is up for debate.
I’ve had biodynamic wines that felt electric—more layered, more alive. Could be the holistic approach. Could be the placebo effect. Could be that winemakers willing to bury cow horns are also the kind of people obsessed with getting every last detail right in their wines.
Where to Find the Best of Both Worlds
If you want clean, vibrant, organic wine without any lunar mysticism, go to La Mancha, Rueda, or Jumilla. These regions have been organic forever, mostly out of necessity. Dry, low-intervention viticulture is just how they roll.
If you want to experience biodynamic winemaking in full force, head to Priorat, Bierzo, or Penedès. This is where you’ll find the true believers, the ones who consult moon phases before bottling and talk about their vineyards like they’re sentient beings.
Either way, Spain is proving that great wine doesn’t need synthetic chemicals or mass production. It just needs a little patience—and, in some cases, a lunar calendar.
Drink accordingly.