The information-packed presentation was led by the incredibly knowledgeable Sharron McCarthy, who, in a totally entertaining hour discussed the green revolution in viti-viniculture. Sharron, a member of the NYCWA and President of the Society of Wine Educators, talked about the challenges, methods and social accountability of creating a better product by using less pesticides and producing wines in a more natural way, and the differences between Eco-Balanced, Organics and Biodynamics in wine making.

The three categories she discussed were:
Sustainable agriculture – doing as little harm as possible to the environment so future generations can utilize the land.
Organics - wines grown in a way so that they will not harm the environment at all – no fertilizers that take from the land.
Bio-Dynamics- Using energies of the sun, moon and stars (cosmic forces) to create a better environment for vineyards than was at the beginning and bring back what was there in the first place.

Sharron showed us the Biodynamic Calendar, which is reminiscent of the Farmers Almanac. The calendar determines times of planting and harvesting by showing the influence of the Lunar and Cosmic cycles. There are root days, leaf days, flower days and fruit days. Sharron stressed that grapes should not be picked on water days as lunar and cosmic forces pull water into the plant and dilute the grapes. She told an anecdote about how she tested this concept by picking tomatoes in her own back yard on water days and non-water days and then having neighbors taste and rate the tomatoes. Every time the tomatoes selected as the best tasting were those picked on non-water days.

Throughout the presentation we enjoyed a selection of nine incredible wines—Pinot Grigio, Lambrusco, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Chianti, Zinfandel to name a few, in all three categories, each a delightful experience. And to keep us from getting hungry, Mary Cleaver provided a delicious array of organic snacks.

Sharron gave us her expert opinion on the characteristics of each wine and suggested pairings. She also gave us the retail price we might expect to pay at our local wine shop. We swirled, sniffed, tasted and enjoyed…now we’ll all be out there searching for our favorite sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines.

Photo of Sharron McCarthy by Kate Morgan

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