Biodynamic wine is wine made from grapes farmed biodynamically, a farming method based on lectures Rudolf Steiner gave in 1924. Biodynamic growers treat the farm as one living organism and use nine preparations, made from cow manure, quartz and plants, in very small doses. The rules come from private certifiers, mainly Demeter and Biodyvin, and they cover the cellar as well as the vineyard.
Demeter’s strictest US label, “Biodynamic wine,” allows no added yeast, acid or sugar and caps total sulfites at 100 parts per million.
Austria: red
Chablis: white
Veneto: orange
How biodynamic wine is defined
No law defines biodynamic farming or biodynamic wine. EU organic law mentions only “biodynamic preparations” and allows organic farmers to use them. In the US, Demeter USA says “Biodynamic” is its registered certification mark, and that a farm or product cannot be called biodynamic without Demeter certification.
A vineyard certified by Demeter USA must:
- Meet USDA organic rules first. Demeter then bans or limits some inputs that organic rules allow.
- Use all the biodynamic preparations, 500 to 507, and spray 500 and 501 on every harvested crop at least once a year.
- Set aside at least 10% of its land as a biodiversity reserve, such as hedgerows or plantings for insects.
- Bring fertility from within the farm where possible. Vineyards can add no more than 134 pounds of nitrogen per acre over 3 years.
- Use no more than 2.7 pounds of copper per acre per year, averaged over 7 years.
- Pass an inspection every growing season to renew its certification.
Demeter International, the federation of Demeter certifiers in 45 countries, recommends organic certification but does not always require it. Biodyvin, a union of biodynamic wine growers, approves an estate after four years of conversion, and all its members are certified organic.
The biodynamic preparations
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| Number | Made from | How it is made and used |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | Cow manure | Packed into a cow horn, buried in the fall and dug up in spring. Sprayed on the soil in the late afternoon, at least once a year |
| 501 | Ground quartz | Packed into a cow horn and buried over the summer. Sprayed on the leaves as a fine mist in the early morning, at least once a year |
| 502 | Yarrow flowers | Placed in a stag’s bladder, hung in the sun for the summer and buried over winter. Added to compost |
| 503 | Chamomile flowers | Stuffed into cow intestine and buried from fall to spring. Added to compost |
| 504 | Stinging nettle | Buried for a whole year. Added to compost |
| 505 | Oak bark | Placed in the skull of a farm animal and buried over winter in wet ground. Added to compost |
| 506 | Dandelion flowers | Wrapped in cow mesentery, a membrane from the gut, and buried from fall to spring. Added to compost |
| 507 | Valerian flowers | Pressed or fermented into juice. Added to compost |
| 508 | Horsetail | Made into a tea and sprayed on the plants |
The preparations are stirred in water before spraying, by hand or with a machine. The doses are small: Demeter USA sets ¾ to 4¼ ounces of preparation 500 per acre, and 1 to 2 grams of preparation 501.
Biodynamic wine labels and cellar rules
In the US, Demeter certifies wine under two labels. Both need 100% Demeter-certified grapes and a Demeter-certified winery.
- Biodynamic wine
- Fermented with native yeast, with no added acid, sugar, tannin or enzymes. No pasteurization, must concentration or micro-oxygenation. Fining only with bentonite, egg whites or milk, and total sulfites at bottling of 100 parts per million at most. The label depends on the vintage: a winery can make Biodynamic wine one year and not the next.
- Made with Biodynamic grapes
- The grapes are biodynamic, and the cellar follows the USDA rules for wine “made with organic grapes”, which allow more interventions. Demeter offers it for years when weather or other reasons keep a wine from qualifying as Biodynamic wine.
Demeter encourages, but does not require, following the biodynamic calendar for harvest and cellar work. Labels must be approved by Demeter before they go to the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
Demeter and Biodyvin rules compared
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| Demeter USA: Biodynamic wine | Demeter USA: Made with Biodynamic grapes | Demeter International | Biodyvin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grapes | 100% Demeter certified | 100% Demeter certified | Demeter certified | Certified organic and Biodyvin approved |
| Yeast | Native yeast. A neutral strain only to restart a stuck fermentation | As for USDA “made with organic grapes”, organic yeast if available | Native yeast. A neutral strain only to restart a stuck fermentation or for sparkling wine | Set in Biodyvin’s specifications, whose cellar goal is nothing added, nothing taken out |
| Sugar and acid | No added sugar or acid, except sugar for the second fermentation of sparkling wine | As for USDA “made with organic grapes” | Sugar can raise the alcohol by 1.5% at most. Acid up to 1.5 g/L | Set in Biodyvin’s specifications |
| Fining | Bentonite, egg whites or milk | As for USDA “made with organic grapes” | Egg white, milk products, casein, pea, potato or wheat protein, bentonite, charcoal. No isinglass or gelatin | Set in Biodyvin’s specifications |
| Sulfites, total at bottling | 100 ppm | 100 ppm | Dry red 100 mg/L, dry white and rosé 140 mg/L, up to 360 mg/L for sweet wines from botrytized grapes | Dry red 80 mg/L, dry white and rosé 105 mg/L, up to 230 mg/L for sweet wines |
Biodyvin allows 30 mg/L more for wines aged over 9 months. Demeter International’s and Biodyvin’s limits for dry wines apply to wines with less than 5 grams of sugar per liter.
The biodynamic calendar
Biodynamic growers can time their work with a sowing calendar developed by Maria Thun (1922 to 2012), a German farmer. From her sowing trials in the 1950s, starting with radishes, she divided the moon’s path through the zodiac into root days, leaf days, fruit days and flower days. The moon enters a new constellation every two or three days. Her family still publishes the calendar every year, and in 2010 they added a version for wine drinkers, When Wine Tastes Best.
A 2017 study tested the idea that wine tastes better on fruit days. 19 New Zealand wine professionals tasted 12 Pinot Noirs blind on fruit days and root days. The type of day made no consistent difference to how they rated the wines.
Where biodynamic farming comes from
Rudolf Steiner gave eight lectures on agriculture at Koberwitz, now Kobierzyce in Poland, from June 7 to 16, 1924. 111 people attended, from six countries. According to Demeter USA, farmers had asked for the course after noticing a decline in seed fertility, crop vitality and animal health. Steiner presented the farm as a living organism, self-contained and self-sustaining.
The Demeter brand was created in Europe in 1928, and the US Demeter Association in 1985.
What the research says
- Soil and vines: a study in a Merlot vineyard in Ukiah, California, compared biodynamic and organic plots for six years. It found no difference in soil quality, yield or vine nutrients. In 2003 the biodynamic grapes had more sugar and more phenolic compounds.
- Yield: a 2019 meta-analysis found 21% less vine growth and 18% lower yields under organic and biodynamic farming than under conventional farming. A 2015 Riesling trial in Geisenheim, Germany, found that the preparations themselves had little effect on growth and yield.
- Wine quality: the same meta-analysis found no overall difference in grape or wine quality between farming systems. In two studies of a Sangiovese vineyard converting from organic to biodynamic, trained tasters found some differences, and consumers had no preference.
What biodynamic wine tastes like
Biodynamic covers every grape, region and color, so it has no single taste. These 4 tasting notes appear more often than any others across the biodynamic wines we list.
Lemon peel
The zest and pith of citrus, with a slightly bitter edge
Flower
A light floral scent
Pear
Fresh, juicy orchard fruit
Grapefruit
Tart, slightly bitter citrus
Biodynamic wine estates
- La Coulée de Serrant, Loire Valley
- Nicolas Joly’s estate in Savennières, certified biodynamic since 1983, according to its website. Cistercian monks planted the vineyard in 1130.
- Domaine Leflaive, Burgundy
- Anne-Claude Leflaive converted the Puligny-Montrachet estate to biodynamic farming between 1992 and 1996.
- Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Alsace
- Biodynamic since 1997 and certified by Biodyvin.
- Maria and Sepp Muster, Styria
- Members of Demeter since 2003.
- Cooper Mountain Vineyards, Oregon
- Certified by Demeter in 1999. Every wine it makes today comes from biodynamic grapes.
- Montinore Estate, Oregon
- Biodynamic practices since 2003 and Demeter certification for its 200-acre vineyard in 2008.
Demeter counted 7,510 certified farms on 267,473 hectares worldwide in 2025, across all crops. Biodyvin lists 215 member wine estates.
Common questions about biodynamic wine
- What is biodynamic wine?
- Wine made from grapes farmed biodynamically, a farming method based on Rudolf Steiner’s 1924 lectures, and certified by a private body such as Demeter or Biodyvin.
- Is biodynamic wine organic?
- In the US, Demeter requires a farm to meet USDA organic rules first. All Biodyvin members are certified organic. Demeter International recommends organic certification but allows exceptions.
- Is biodynamic wine natural wine?
- Not automatically. The French Vin Méthode Nature charter requires organic or biodynamic grapes and allows nothing in the cellar except a little sulfite. Biodynamic rules allow more.
- Is biodynamic wine vegan?
- Not by definition. The preparations use cow horns, a stag’s bladder, cow intestine and an animal skull, and Demeter allows fining with egg whites and milk. Demeter bans isinglass and gelatin.
- Does biodynamic wine contain sulfites?
- Yes. Yeast produces sulfites during fermentation, and certifiers allow some to be added: up to 100 parts per million for Demeter USA’s Biodynamic wine.
- Does biodynamic wine taste different?
- Studies have found no consistent difference. A 2019 meta-analysis found no overall difference in grape or wine quality between farming systems.
Sources
- Demeter USA: Biodynamic farm standard
- Demeter USA: processing standards, section 12 (wine)
- Demeter USA: labeling standard
- Demeter International: production and processing standard
- Biodyvin: presentation
- Biodyvin: approval
- Biodyvin: specifications for viticulture and vinification
- EU: Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production
- Rudolf Steiner Archive: the Agriculture Course (GA 327)
- Paull (2013): Koberwitz 1924, the Agriculture Course
- Floris Books: Maria Thun
- Parr et al. (2017): tasting wine on fruit and root days
- Reeve et al. (2005): biodynamic and organic Merlot
- Döring et al. (2015): integrated, organic and biodynamic Riesling
- Döring et al. (2019): organic and biodynamic viticulture, a meta-analysis
- Parpinello et al. (2015): Sangiovese in conversion to biodynamic
- Parpinello et al. (2019): organic and biodynamic Sangiovese
- Biodynamic Federation Demeter International: worldwide figures (2025)
- Syndicat de défense des vins naturels: FAQ
- La Coulée de Serrant
- Domaine Leflaive: history
- Domaine Zind-Humbrecht: biodynamics
- Weingut Muster: philosophy
- Cooper Mountain Vineyards: the place
- Montinore Estate: our story
Keep reading
The biodynamic wine collection lists the biodynamic wines we carry. The organic and natural wine guides cover the rules biodynamic farming builds on.
Shop biodynamic wine Read the organic wine guide Read the natural wine guide Read the vegan wine guide
