Wines are generally defined in one of three ways: by their country or region of origin, by their colour (red, white, pink) or by their style (still, sparkling, fortified). Only recently have wines begun to be defined by how their grapes have been grown and the wine made, with a clear distinction between modern ‘chemical’ wine-growing on one hand, and the chemical-free organic or natural approach on the other. Now the world’s most respected wine producers, from Bordeaux to the Barossa, and Chablis to California, increasingly see biodynamics as the method of choice for blue-chip winemaking. Biodynamic wine explains concisely and clearly the theory behind biodynamics, how biodynamics differs from organics, and how the world’s winemakers – from high-end Bordeaux chateaux to under-the-radar family estates – use biodynamics in practice, often with significant and captivating variations according to wine style, local terroir, weather and even lunar cycles. Biodynamic wine is a comprehensive and absorbing guide to the most argued-about green winemaking phenomenon of recent years. It is both an ideal how-to manual for growers and a fascinating guide for wine professionals and wine enthusiasts.

Monty Waldin is a consultant on biodynamic and sustainable viticulture and has written articles for Decanter and The Oxford Companion to Wine along with nine regional wine books. In 2013 he became the Regional Chair for Tuscany at the Decanter World Wine Awards. In 1999 his independent guide to organic wine was voted UK wine guide of the year. His Channel 4 TV series, ‘Chateau Monty’, followed his journey to make a biodynamic red wine from a vineyard in France’s Roussillon region.