Following certification by the Biological Farmers Association of Australia as having an organic vineyard in 2003, we attended a seminar organised by the Biodynamic Association of Australia. This inspired Cullen Wines to adopt a more holistic approach to viticulture and thereby encouraged our move towards biodynamic farming.
Biodynamics, which involves adopting a collective approach to working with the soil, the plants and the cosmos, has two underlying philosophies. The first recognises that it is important to maintain sustainable soil fertility, as is also the case with organic farming, while the second takes into account the link that exists between plant growth and the rhythms of the cosmos. The adoption of these philosophies in concert, results in the production of healthier plants and livestock.

Biodynamic agriculture uses a series of preparations, which are made from various mineral, plant and animal substances. The role of these substances is to enhance all of the bacterial and mineral processes that are involved in organic farming. Biodynamic agriculture acknowledges that, when sowing seeds, transplanting vines, applying liquid manures and spraying fruit crops, it is important to take into account astronomical rhythms and the positions of the moon, sun and planets.

The Cullen vineyards were initially farmed using minimal chemical input, but subsequently progressed to employing organic products and now biodynamic substances. The shift from minimal chemical input to organic products proved far more challenging than progressing from an organic to biodynamic approach.

What do we do?

What we put onto the vineyard:

Sprays

Ground sprays include preparation 500, the cow manure that is placed in female cow horns which are then buried underground over winter. The spray produced from 500 is applied to the soil in the vineyard three times during the year when either the moon is in opposition to Saturn or is descending. This spray, which is sometimes combined with fish emulsion and seaweed, invigorates the soil.

Foliar sprays include mainly sulphur when it is required and preparation 501. The latter is the Steiner preparation that consists of good quality quartz crystals, which are placed in cow horns and buried underground during spring and are dug up in autumn. 501 is applied to the foliage three times a year or when needed. Very occasionally, it is necessary to spray the leaves of the vines with a copper solution.

Compost.

Each year, 5 cubic meters of compost containing biodynamic preparations are applied to each hectare of the vineyard.

Weed control

Weed control
We control the weeds in our vineyards through using an under-vine weeder. This weed removal, together with a remounding of the soil under the vines, also disturbs the breeding cycle of the South African garden weevil. This insect, which is our greatest pest, has no natural predators.

Outcomes of the use of biodynamics in our vineyards

We have been very happy with the results of our use of a biodynamic approach to viticulture. The old vines have greatly improved in health and our soil is producing excellent cover crops throughout the vineyards.

From the above it follows that we now consider the vineyard to be highly sustainable and the old vines capable of producing consistent, balanced, quality fruit for many years to come!

Winery

Our philosophy is to interfere as little as possible in the winemaking process and thus essentially let the wines make themselves. We have been delighted that this approach has resulted in the production of high quality and individual wines from all of the grape varieties we have planted.

Restaurant

The Cullen restaurant serves food made only from organic and biodynamic produce. As some of the herbs and vegetables are grown in our garden, the food on our menu, which is adjusted seasonally to take into account what is available, is particularly fresh and healthy. The various dishes prepared by our chefs are designed to compliment the wines made from our biodynamically grown fruit.

Garden.

Since 2006, the vegetables in our garden have been grown mainly from organic, non-hybrid seed stock. We hope that this will provide not only tastier, healthier food, but through our saving of the seeds at the end of the season, enable our favourite crops to become adapted to the specific conditions that exist at Cullens in Wilyabrup.