Who was that guy?

[Michael Laiskonis]

A few weeks, or months ago, or, hell, I don't really remember- in a recent interview with Lynne Rossetto-Kasper for NPR's The Splendid Table, you devoted most of your time to discussing a rather peculiar winemaker in, I believe, the Loire valley, who is perhaps the poster boy for the most militant faction of 'bio' wine growers. Who was that guy? Apart from the actual agricultural practices, and his refusal to add sulfites to his wines, you described his approach as an almost 'mystical' pursuit. If anything, I sensed you had simply discovered a kindred spirit, or at least another 'demented' thinker!

How did you come to meet him and what did you take away from the experience? What have you learned and assimilated from, for lack of a better word, the more 'mainstream bio'/commercially viable winemakers in France?

[Randall Grahm]

Michael,

The guy's name is Claude Courtois and he makes wines somewhere in E. Jesus, Loire - I don't even believe that his area is within a named appellation, and I'm certain that he does not export to the U.S. His wine labels are thoroughly risqué; he is personally a character out of Rabelais. But he has really inspired me to take a much closer look at biodynamie and we have begun the practice in our own vineyard. Biodynamie is a transformative process that changes the grape grower as much as it changes the vineyard. If you do it properly you become a much more observant and attentive grower. Your vines are growing in much greater harmony with their environment and as such (as it is believed) will be able to better articulate their terroir. A more mechanistic explanation is that a soil that is alive with healthy micro-flora, esp. those that live in symbiotic association on the roots of vines, will help the plant to better transport minerals. I hope that this is useful. Cheers, R.