Biodynamics, as a viticultural method, is generally not well understood by either its practitioners or its detractors. Detractors complain that biodynamics is rooted in mysticism and has no scientific basis whatsoever and thus no place in the increasingly scientific world of viticulture and oenology. Proponents counter that the biodynamic method established by Rudolf Steiner in the early twentieth century is fundamentally based on scientific facts, and that the results of applying the method are consistent and easily discernible in both the vineyard and the wine glass. This article elucidates the very complex relationship between Steiner's theory and reductivist science and suggests that only by better understanding this relationship can we truly appreciate what the biodynamic method is.
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February 2012
Research Article|
February 01 2012
The Science of Biodynamic Viticulture
jason tippetts
jason tippetts
jason tippetts earned a master's degree in philosophy at University College London in 2005, writing his dissertation on the philosophy of science. He returned home to Seattle and now operates a wine import business. Recently he has found many compelling topics to write about that bring together philosophy and wine. Tippetts is currently researching a book about biodynamic viticulture.
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Gastronomica (2012) 12 (1): 91–99.
Citation
jason tippetts; The Science of Biodynamic Viticulture. Gastronomica 1 February 2012; 12 (1): 91–99. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/GFC.2012.12.1.91
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