The idea that a wine can taste better on one day, than another is common in wine circles around the world. Many well-respected wine-makers and wine critics hold such a belief because they have experienced this often for themselves. Of course, there are a wide range of theories of why a wine might taste differently on different days. One theory that is gaining more and more credence is the affects of the moon. Nowadays, even wine vendors such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer have policies in place to arrange their wine tastings according to the Biodynamic lunar calendar. A proponent of Rudolph Steiner’s work, Maria Thun first published the lunar planting calendar in the 1950’s. She identified days as “fruit”, “flower”, “leaf” or “root” days according to the position of the moon and stars. Many biodynamic and organic growers attest to using the calendar as a guide to farming activities for spectacular results. Believing that wine is a living product that responds to the moon’s rhythms in the ways that organisms do, it is particularly recognized that fruit and flower days are most beneficial to wine-tasting, while leaf, and especially root days are regarded as unfavourable. (However, this does not mean that the wines will taste “wrong” on these days, but rather that the wine’s full expression will be revealed on the fruit and flower days!) This has since been borne out by numerous trials and experiments by even the most sceptical of wine experts. At Avondale, we find that making use of the planting calendar enhances our consciousness of our connection to the cosmos and keeps us connected to the subtle energies of our farm – a good example of this is the tasting of our wines according to this calendar. If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter we will let you know about upcoming fruit and flower days, and you can experiment for yourself!
Most importantly, we will have to do lots of experimenting, and bear in mind, that there are lots of other factors that can influence our enjoyment of a bottle of wine – such as, the company we share it with! It is also important to note that the planting calendar is different for northern and southern hemispheres.
If you want to read more in the press about using the lunar calendar to arrange wine-tastings, you’ll find a BBC article “Can lunar cycles affect the taste of wine?”