Cullen showcases the benefits of biodynamics

Several leading winemakers adhere to biodynamic principles, which they say improve vineyard health and create better wines. 

Cullen Wines in Margaret River, Western Australia, are at the forefront of organics and biodynamics in Australia and are about to release a pair of sustainable white wines that demonstrate the similarities, and differences, of wines made using the biodynamic calendar. 

Vanya Cullen is a believer, and adherent to biodynamic wine production, which uses organic farming methods while also employing soil supplements prepared according to biodynamics founder Rudolf Steiner's formulas, following a planting calendar that depends upon astrological configurations, and treating the earth as "a living and receptive organism."

The two new releases are the 2025 Kevin John Legacy Series Fruit Day Chardonnay ($350), of which  646 bottles were produced, and the 2025 Kevin John Legacy Series Full Moon Fruit Day MOSH Chardonnay, also $350, and with a similar minuscule number of bottles produced. 

I'm no expert on biodynamics but Vanya Cullen and her team report "a set of whites with lifted perfume, texture and depth, slightly softer natural acidity than 2024 making them delicious even in their youth, and a Kevin John Chardonnay that looks especially powerful and refined. Across the board, 2025 trades the sheer heat and power of 2024 for classical perfume and balance. These wines will drink beautifully now and evolve gracefully in the cellar". 

The Legacy Series wines are made only in outstanding vintages using small parcels of fruit from single blocks. 

The grapes for these two wines were hand picked on biodynamic fruit days seven days apart. The first harvest was also on a Full Moon “Moon Opposite Saturn Harvest” astral event. 

Only a biodynamic-approved puncheon of each wine was selected. 

Winemaking was quirky, or innovative, with whole bunches placed in clay amphorae lined with beeswax for two days before pressing. The juice was then transferred to a biodynamic flower day puncheon to complete fermentation. Both wines were unfined and unfiltered. 

Both are tight, taut and terrific, impressively integrated, impressive biodynamic ambassadors, and would make a fabulous Christmas present for a serious wine lover. 

My favourite: for drinking now the fruitier Fruit Day. For the cellar: the higher tension Full Moon Fruit Day. 

These 2025 Kevin John Legacy Series Fruit Day wines will be available at cellar door and online from October 28 and released to distributors Mezzanine on November 1. See https://cullenwines.com.au/

Cullen releases showcase the impacts of biodynamics

Vanya Cullen and her winemaking team are constantly looking to push the boundaries and explore new iterations of their star wines, using biodynamic principles in the vineyard and the winery.

Two new releases - both made in minuscule quantities - showcase the Cullen Wines commitment to wines that make a statement.

The inaugural release of the Diana Madeline Legacy Series Full Moon MOSH - from the 2023 vintage - honours Diana Madeline Cullen AM, whose passion for Bordeaux blends led her to introduce both merlot and cabernet franc to Margaret River back in 1976.

A blend of 70% cabernet sauvignon and 30% malbec showcases the first pick for both varieties from the Cullen vineyard in 2023, occurring on a full Moon and Moon opposite Saturn harvest in early March.

The fruit was hand-harvested from 52-year-old dry grown cabernet Vines, first planted in 1971. The two grape varieties were co-fermented in stainless steel vats and then matured for 14 months in 33% new barriques.

The other premium release is the 2024 Kevin John Legacy Series Flower Day.

It is a wine deeply rooted in Cullen's passion for biodynamic principles - with the aim of producing wines that embody the influence of the biodynamic calendar.

The 2024 Kevin John Legacy Series Flower Day Chardonnay comes from the earliest vintage on record at Cullen Wines.

Grapes were picked in mid-January from old, dry-grown Gin Gin clone vines. The fruit was basket pressed to a concrete egg for wild fermentation, then matured for six months in a new oak puncheon.

There were zero additions of yeast or acidity, and the wine was bottled without fining or filtration.

Two special wines priced for aficionados. Both have serious presence, intensity and depth of flavour. They retail for $350 each.

# The Margaret River Wine Association has honoured Vanya Cullen (above) with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising her contribution to the Margaret River wine industry and her "leadership in sustainability, innovation, and excellence".

Cullen aims to set new international benchmarks in biodynamic viticulture, environmental responsibility, and regenerative farming.

See cullenwines.com.au/.

Austria rides organic wine wave

 

Austria, known for some stellar white wines, is one of the nations leading the way in terms of environmentally-conscious viticulture. 

Around 12,000 hectares of Austrian vineyards are now cultivated in compliance with the independently controlled viticulture program Sustainable Austria (Nachhaltig Austria), corresponding to 27% of Austria’s total area under vine. 

That's big progress given the certification program was only launched 10 years ago. 

Austria has impressive figures when it comes to organic viticulture, with 25% of the country’s area under vine being certified as organic, as of November 2024.

The figures were issued this week by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (Austrian Wine). 

More than 1 in 10 organic vineyards are also cultivated using biodynamic methods. 

“The Sustainable Austria certification is a recognised sustainability label on the global wine stage," says Chris Yorke, CEO of Austrian Wine. "It plays a significant role in Austrian wine being perceived as particularly environmentally friendly. 

“It’s not just the environment that benefits from this. Environmentally conscious certification is a key selling point in many markets, including Scandinavia, Canada and the USA. Some of our wineries even hold several certifications, e.g. ‘Sustainable Austria’ and ‘organic’.”

The global organic wine market has been gaining traction in today’s health-conscious society. 

A recent report by InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd showed the market was valued at US$9.84 billion in 2021 and is set to reach an impressive US$25.07 billion by 2030. 

Sustainable Austria was launched in 2015 after being developed over a number of years by the Austrian Winegrowers’ Association (Österreichischer Weinbauverband) in association with a group of scientists.

Image: Ried Heiligenstein, Kamptal. © ÖWM/Robert Herbst

Austrian wine industry focuses on organic viticulture

We don't see enough Austrian wines in Australia, but the wine industry is booming with a focus on organic farming. 

Austrian organic vineyards have this year exceeded 10,000 hectares for the first time. 

The area under vine certified as organic has risen to 10,432 hectares, the equivalent of 15,000 football pitches or 24% of the total area under vine. 

This makes Austria one of the global front-runners in organic viticulture. More than 1 in 10 organic vineyards are also cultivated using biodynamic methods. Furthermore, 25% of Austria’s vineyards are certified by Sustainable Austria.

The report  The World of Organic Agriculture 2024 shows Austria’s share of organically cultivated vineyards was already 21.5% in 2022, putting it in first place among the major wine-producing countries, even outstripping France (20.7%) and Italy (18.1%). 

“Around the world, Austrian wine enjoys a reputation for being produced in an especially environmentally conscious manner, and with good reason, as the numbers show,” says Chris Yorke, CEO of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. 

“This is not only good for the environment, but also good for the winegrowers themselves because in many markets, certification of environmentally conscious production is an important selling point, particularly in Scandinavia, Canada and the USA."

A very special wine of which there were only 576 bottles made

It is fair to say that the Cullen Wines 2022 Fruit Day Vanya is not a wine for everyone.

It is an exquisite red wine, full of palate interest, and is an absolute joy to drink, even in its youth. We paired it with steak and kidney casserole with dumplings, a match made in heaven.

The issue for most wine lovers is the $900 a bottle RRP - and the fact that only 576 bottles were made.

With the wine newly released at the Cullen cellar door, restaurant and website and being officially released to distributors on Friday, it will be the quick and the dead.

This gem ticks all the boxes for meticulous biodynamic winemaking - and is named for winemaker and long-time biodynamics advocate Vanya Cullen.

From a very good Margaret River vintage, the estate cabernet sauvignon fruit was harvested in late March "on a fruit day, with, Venus, Mars and Saturn in conjunction".

It was hand-picked, hand sorted and de-stemmed and then crushed to a 300-litre beeswax amphora and fermented with 46 days on skins before being pressed into a new flower day puncheon.

The juice was then matured in the new oak vessel for seven months before bottling on a fruit day.

There are classic vibrant cabernet characteristics; blackcurrant, tobacco leaf, minerality, chocolate and black cherry; a wine that is light-footed with impressive balance.

With a deft combination of intricacy, authenticity and approachability, this glides across the tongue like a vinous luxury yacht. 98 points for me.

See www.cullenwines.com.au