When he was 11, Moreno had a Great Dane named Roger (just like Gerald Durrell’s dog in my family and other animals) and a goat named Luna, also like Gerald Durrell’s cat in Corfu. Roger and Luna were inseparable; they moved together, slept in the same kennel and Luna had learned to gnaw bones by imitating Roger. The only thing she couldn’t do was bark, but she emitted a very original sound between the bleat-howl. In the summer the family moved to the sea in Versilia with dog and goat climbing on a trailer previously used to transport the pony named Furia. Luna had destroyed all kinds of vegetation: aromatic plants, roses, hedges and bushes; but they knew it, so for years they gave up having a fragrant and decent garden. During the Christmas period, they spent their holidays in Abetone and the heaviest laughter broke out to see the flights that Luna made, but also Roger on the ice slipping and losing his balance.

In the spring, Piero arrived, a Barbary ape who always stood on Moreno’s left shoulder. Piero enjoyed teasing Roger. He climbed on his back and played with his ears,so he would start running doing some strange gincana in the trees led by Piero as if he were on a go-kart, and Luna behind, she too ran up and down, and they never got tired of this game that everyone enjoyed very much.

In more recent life, the companion animals that followed were two female brown Dobermans, Bambina and Lavinia, who lived a long time and were both adopted and much loved. Currently on the farm there are ten Livornese hens, two guinea fowls and two geese, some rabbits, while in the house there are Stella, a black spinoncina with white socks and Mila a Labrador hunter, also adopted. However, the boss is Arty, a beautiful grey cat with yellow eyes, always a little treacherous, just enough to be respected by the other quadrupeds; until SHE arrived .. Doris the Magpie (so called after the American scammer, Doris Payne). This splendid specimen with metallic black feathers and blue reflections appeared early one morning beating on Martino’s window. Since then, she has accompanied us in any activity: during the harvest, cutting, pruning, cleaning but also when we do exercise. She enjoys teasing us, and plays, steals objects and hides them, in the grass, under the gravel, on trees .. The Pica Pica is surprisingly intelligent and no one has beaten her at hide and seek yet. !L

If we look back to its origins, biodynamics has evolved a great deal. 

At the origin of biodynamics we find a controversial and prolific gentleman named Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), author of “Agriculture Course”, rendered possible following a long study of the scientific work of Goethe. Wolfgang von Goethe is renowned above all for his novels and dramas (including Faust). But his scientific work, in particular “The Metamorphosis of Plants” is just as much of prime importance. His theory popular in the 19^th century was forgotten in the 20^th century, but has returned on the crest of the wave with the latest discoveries in molecular genetics. Starting from an identical initial structure, the plants’ homeotic genes govern development toward this or that organ. With the aid of many observations, Goethe was right.

In 1920 chemistry had already invaded agriculture to a large extent and farmers were worried about the increasing doses of fertilizers they had to inject in order to upkeep yields and for the sterility of the soils of the harvests.

Two German agronomists, Ehrhardt Bartsch and Immanuel Vögele sounded the alert. On request of many farmers, between 7 and 16 June 1924, at the estate of Count Keyserling – very worried himself – Rudolf Steiner delivered a series of eight lectures known as the “Agriculture Course” which set the bases for biodynamics.

The originality of the “Agriculture Course” was that it questioned the chemical agriculture of Baron Von Liebig by reacting against chemical additives that degrade the soil and that were very much in use back then. For Steiner, agriculture in general is a global living being with livestock, trees, crops, all to the rhythm of cycles. He formalized what was empirical before and did not need to be named or protected since chemistry did not exist.

Biodynamics strengthen the plant with infusions of nettle and horsetail (Equisetium) and others. Let’s take the nettle macerate for example: the dissemination of the recipe was forbidden for a long time in France and was actually cause for smirks. Today, we perfectly understand the way it works since the infusion acts both as antiseptic and as leaf nutrient. This twofold function is well present in the spirit of biodynamics: to make sure that the plant is stronger against attacks and give it an added spur during its fight.

With this approach, some practices may seem esoteric at first glance. The same holds true for the so-called “Process 500”, i.e. cow manure immersed inside a cow horn and buried in the soil at the beginning of winter and then removed in the spring. During these 6 months, the dung turns into a colloidal substance similar to Humus, it is mixed with water heated to 30-35°C (dynamization) and then sprayed on the soil. This preparation may make people smile, but the biological activity inside the horn is incredibly intense, the number of aerobic microorganisms is surprising (hence its name: 500 million/gram), for the joy of the soil that becomes “energized”. According to biodynamics, life begins with life in the soil that gives balance to the plant and to the animals that work together in a global way: 500P is, here too, the example. This Process 500 has proven its efficacy when it became necessary to rehabilitate millions of hectares of soil rendered sterile by massive doses of DDT insecticide. 

Alex Podolinsky, the father of modern biodynamics, has adapted 500P and revitalized soils rendered inert by DDT in just a few years. Thanks to 500P, roots were able to seek out the nutrients they needed, progressively expelling the insecticide from the soil. Evidently, science cannot really explain the phenomenon, just like magnetic force was considered contrary to the laws of Newton and was object of a sour scientific controversy that lasted over two hundred years.

The notion of Sun/Moon is controversial, too. Although no one dares question the influence of the sun, the influence of the moon (and in particular that of the other planets) seems more mysterious. Theses are continuously being published sustaining that the influence of the moon does not exist. Already back in 1939, E. and L. Kolisko demonstrated with detailed experiments the importance of the phases of the moon on plant growth (Agriculture of Tomorrow, London) and lumberjacks have always organized pruning around them.

What is anthroposophy?

Simultaneously with his work on Goethe, Rudolf Steiner presented a PhD thesis in philosophy that would lead to anthroposophy.

Anthroposophy describes spiritual phenomena with the same precision that science uses to describe the physical world. 

“Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge, to guide the Spiritual in the human being to the Spiritual in the universe. It arises in man as a need of the heart, of the life of feeling; and it can be justified only inasmuch as it can satisfy this inner need. He alone can acknowledge anthroposophy, who finds in it what he himself in his own inner life feels impelled to seek. Hence only they can be anthroposophists who feel certain questions on the nature of man and the universe as an elemental need of life, just as one feels hunger and thirst.” (Rudolf Steiner)

Are biodynamics esoteric?

The connection (?) between esotericism and biodynamics has always been invoked when a new approach that second-guesses some given certainties comes into play. Today, the effect of horsetail is well known, as is that of the common comfrey, the willow or camomile. Our grandparents used them because they were very effective. This, however, does not mean that the contributions of modern science should be rejected.

Treating a soil with herbicides is the fastest way to kill off every form of life. The contribution by biodynamics is to demonstrate that a more respectful approach toward the environment allows being at least just as effective without jeopardizing the future. Furthermore, a very recent study by the French National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) has just shown that crops would be a lot less prone to disease without the pesticides designed to protect them. 

Far from any esotericism, biodynamics is a method, an instrument to reproduce Humus, to return fertility to the soil.

Climate Change? Here it is! Unpredictable weather, colder and hotter, wetter and drier. The only valid interpretation still remains ignored, precisely the answer given by Alex Podolinsky in a series of University conferences in 2012: the inability of soil impoverished of humus, to preserve water and the consequent acceleration of the water cycle, speeding the intensity of climatic phenomena. Humus is the bank of water with its capacity to hold back up to one and half times its weight. Soils cultivated out of Nature’s design lose humus, water flows quickly into the rivers causing floods, in the same year, after just a few months, sometimes even weeks the river goes dry, because it is unable to get fed from the venous system of the soil. Of course overbuilding, fast trains and roads do not help; their vibrations compact the earth and asphyxia “kills” the soils: without air, the aerobic microbiology present in it, dies. If only soils were cultivated following practices that are Life conscious, we could compensate the effects of economic development, slowing down water, holding back humus in the soil, which would feed rivers during summers. A solid farming practice, not utopia, based on Nature’s laws rather than on unrealistic and oneiric visions.

So, following a cold winter with lots of snow on the mountains, a very warm April unexpectedly dry, closing with a week of freezing wind. Many olive trees, especially the Frantoio die or lose a branch. Followed by rainfall, rain and more rain. A busy spring, forcing us to spray vines even twice a week. At the end of June, while it rains all over Italy, Lucca goes dry! For 3 months, except a small shower in the middle of the harvest, on September 11th, a hot wind blows unrested at 30/35°C. It rains in Chianti, in Pisa; it even rains in Sardegna, but not a drop in Lucca!
Harvest starts on August 28th and finishes as early as September 20th always under backing Sun. Grapes look like the 2017, not much, dry and light in weight, a very small yield per hectare, yield per must reduced to 50%. Wine is beautiful, fruitful, warm and enveloping, nice ripe tannins, but too little.

I used to love spending hours in bookshops, getting lost between the bookshelves, grabbing books, read entire chapters random, then sitting on the floor to read more…in the end leave the shop with a bag full of all sorts of literature. This can still happen in Torino, for instance one can linger at the Thérèse for a few hours, they are also good at suggesting; in Paris, I always try to stay around Montmartre so that I can wander in the Atelier looking for some unknown Emmanuel Carrère or strange comics , art books. Not to mention London where you need at least an extra day for the Daunt books in Marylebone… Although I regret buying online, I must admit that it is convenient, since Turin, London and Paris, are far from the hills of Lucca..
What about cinemas? How much longer will they hold? If Druetto (bookshop) in Torino closed in 2006 because they could no longer afford € 130,000 / yearly rent, Cinema Sport in Levanto closed because it did not have safety exits suited to the obsessive requests of inspectors lacking common sense; the cost of work to be done was too high compared to the turnover generated in recent years. It is all very sad, but here too, everything has changed; the choice is vast if you want to watch a film. Moreover, you can do so by sitting comfortably, even in your pyjamas, get up whenever you feel like it, smoke, drink and eat all at a very moderate cost. In case you have to interrupt the showing you may continue it some other time. In Lucca there they are two fantastic record stores, so vinyl shopping is fun, alternatively, I use the online Discogs to buy other less accessible LP. However, I cannot hide that streaming digital services like Spotify or Unidays are a paradise for music lovers, since radios are no longer what they used to be.
What about wine? Italy is still a country where there are wonderful” enoteche”: endless shelves displaying bottles of all kinds. Cellars suitable for wine ageing scattered everywhere, from North to South, in big cities, in provincial towns, in the suburbs. The owners are passionate and you can buy wines to please all tastes and wallets. Do you need a crate of wine? All you need to do is call, and they’ll deliver it to you right away. Fantastic!
What about abroad? It depends where. In many countries, it is similar, wine shops are always busy and business is good. If the alternative to buying in a wine shop were to buy “online”, the idea might seem bizarre, however, people choosing a bottle looking at a screen is increasing. We all know that fine wines are complicated to find, one must look for them amongst collectors, at auctions, book them or buy them “en primeur”, curry favour to some friend of a friend who might be able to find one or two bottles ..
I hope that the enoteche will last longer than bookstores, more than cinemas ..
My suspicion is that it will very much depend on the distributors. When a medium small winery like Valgiano does not get paid, by an importer/distributor who picked up the wines, sold them, re-ordered and resold them turning the vigneron into the financer of the distributor, something has gone very wrong. Analysing more closely, one comes to discover that the distributor in question has bitten off more than he could chew, and now needs a backer to help keep the boat going. Here come the wealthy gentlemen in support of the wine distribution, initially well intentioned. Later, one discovers that: 1) they have no passion for wine, 2) they behave like the most ferocious stock market shark strangling the vignerons by announcing them very long payments, and microscopic orders. In doing so, the vigneron, is forced to abandon those who have transformed a beautiful portfolio of small prestigious producers into a circus that will then turn only to large, industrial wine producers that can afford very well to be paid after 360 days. BTW the latter already sell online.

Both towns have a tower as their symbol.

Space needle was built in Seattle for the EXPO in 1962 and measures 184 metres. Two point three million visitors reach the top every year catching lifts that climb at a speed of 15 m/h, in 43 seconds approximately.

Guinigi tower was built during the thirteenth century. It is 45 metres high. Two hundred and twenty thousand visitors climb every year 25 flights of steps summing to total of 230 stones, quite handy in the first part, but not the last, where it finishes in a narrow, tricky metal ramp. The average climb takes 15 minutes. It was built by the Guinigi family who ruled the town, the intention was to embellish their severe dwelling places with a tree-lined tower which then became the symbol of rebirth.

However.. the average rainfall is what the two cities effectively have in common.

Looking at the year 2014 – some might remember- endless pouring until April, followed by abundant showers towards the end of June and drastic lowering of temperatures. July and August were cold and humid, local newspaper headlines were quite dramatic; in absolute terms, Lucca was worse than the other Tuscan provinces; 1750 mm average/year compared to 833 average taken from the last 30 years.  In Valgiano we measured 2010 mm of water in March..

Contemporarily, Seattleite’ city experienced heavy rainfall in February and March, adding up to a total annual rainfall of 1231 mm whereas the average yearly rain is 952 mm, and the dampest year was 1996.

One could draw plenty of conclusions from these gloomy figures..or just stand back a little and admire plenty of different tones and shades of green that cover our hills as much those in Washington State!  Maybe those Seattle boosters who in the old days have praised the city’s “seven hills” in a comparison with Rome,-to attract land buyers- should invent a new slogan by looking at the atmospheric similarities that Seattle and Lucca have in common.

What about the wines? Few bottles were produced in 2014 ..finesse, elegance, 11% alcohol , even in Burgundy they tried to imitate us!

” They say that contact with nature offers sensations that become fixed in the mind and are not easy to forget. It is inevitable that someone new to this type of experience is overcome by a surge of emotions, enrapturing and indelibly marking him forever. Now I, too, can testify that this is true. Used to the comforts and commodities of city life that anesthetize the senses and send our ability for perception into cold hibernation, in these past months I have experienced a true sensorial awakening. In the course of each day spent on the hills of Lucca, sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch were bombarded by colours, sounds, noises, flavours, smells, perfumes… contacts characterised by a power and depth up until then unknown to me. The purple of the must that inevitably stained hands and clothes, the motley shades of green dotting the hills, the leaves of grapevines and the unripen grapes, the pink of dawn and the orange of the sky at sunset filled my eyes without ever tiring them.The sound of the church bells at noon announcing the much-awaited lunch time, the mingled voices of the grape-pickers along the rows of grapevines, the chirping of crickets facilitating sleep, the roar of the tractors marking the close of the work day, were the best possible soundtrack to accompany my days. Of course – and it could not be otherwise – the palate, too had its great satisfactions; the grapes taken directly from the conveyors or picked straight from the vine, the early morning taste of must, the just-picked flavour of fruits and vegetables, the focaccias and cold cuts used daily to prepare a plush mid-afternoon merenda snack; the countless bottles opened for any and all occasions, made me see how happiness can have many flavours. The sense of smell becomes inebriated with the strong and unforgettable perfumes of the countryside: the balsamic scent of aromatic herbs, the unmistakable perfume of garlic that characterises almost every meal, the acrid smell of sulphur that, after a day of work in the vineyards, impregnated clothes and nostrils, the humidity of the cellars, are perfumes now embedded in my memory. Rural life imposes that the hands always play a primary role: scratched by the branches of vines, caressed by the soft grapes, made purple by the ripe red grapes, shaken in greeting by real men and women… hands are inevitably transformed following this experience. I would like to dwell more on describing the different phases of winemaking in detail, on the sensorial qualities of the wines produced or of the agronomic aspects of vine growing. But in so doing, I would not render justice to what these months have really meant for me. Some days I find myself closing my eyes and thinking about this experience: in those precise moments, I understand the good fortune I had in being catapulted in a reality so far removed from the one I was used to living. It is absolutely indispensable for any person to realise that a different style of life compared to the modern one is indeed possible. I am not speaking about a Utopian return to the past or of annihilating the eases that technology offers, but of having a different perception of what surrounds us. We must learn to practise feeling, getting excited over a perfume, a flavour or a colour. Living is Valgiano was my personal awakening of the senses.”

M. Mantegazza Chef de Rang at Piazza Duomo Restaurant in Alba.

Living in a place should invite us to enhance its welcoming beauty , to take care of it as a duty in order to return it in an even better shape; it should help us contemplate passion for harmony and for the the establishment of an ideal perspective. But in places where man has been heavy handed for an exasperating farming, the tree, the grass, the bucolic are an option; this is what happens where intensive viticulture is victorious: hedges and ditches are in the way as crawlers move forward, bees, vines “sigarai” , hares disappear minced or drowned in pesticides. Nowadays, the immediate, the abundant , the “all at once”, have become law and dogma. Revenue is wanted, plentiful and fast, and preferably with no effort involved. Instead we say : lets go back and be more moderate, for real, more simple, and more respectful!

In the meantime, one pretends to be interested in environmental themes, in sustainability, as a result of which, “ protect nature” can be read even on polyester.. Nature is fashionable and when moda è moda, Gaber – Luporini used to sing, hence we jump on the naturalità wagon, on Candido mill wheel. Slogans are granted a privilege, the image and “terroir” – an over abused term- the location and site..but not in one’s backyard, with turfs, vines and an authentic dialect. We are against those who pollute the earth and wound it with settlements that clash with the surrounding environment; we are against antiseptic wineries , powdered wines and vassals, lobbies that, by appealing to the totally controlled, guaranteed and certified, destroy the soul of products and the essence of the rural and artisan world , erode the dignity of the landscapes and wineries. We are certainly not fond of a natural wine because it is cloudy: of course we have a preference for colours and aromas, although we accept the veiling, like the wrinkles in life.

We think of wine, of the aliment in its nobility as enjoyment and delight. On top wine, there are other activities undertaken by those who farm in a healthy balanced awareness. Olive groves, vegetable gardens, orchards, beehives, farm animals, there are forests and if they are lucky to have an extra field, cereals will grow and alfalfa for rotation. Must not forget spots with weeds, where the wild can express itself, that is the way it should be!

How far do we travel every year to show our wines, pour them, tell the story of Valgiano and the territory where the wines are born. Working the vineyard, being a vintner is hard work and one has to run; the fruits we pick are different from one year to another, so are the wines. Across the table, at the wine tastings, many consumers, clients, fans and curious people attend and ask many queries.

Do you do maceration, and for how long?

Do you add sulphites?

Skin contact maceration?

Does fermentation take off spontaneously or do you add yeast?

Do you filter?

Ageing?

How much alcohol?

Are you biodynamic?

No one ever asks about the soil, which is one of the most important components of the wine, since the roots dig deep down through all the stratifications , whereas everybody asks what grapes are used.

Wines from Valgiano are not varietal , they are “terroir “ wines. They belong to a place with a specific character, a personality, elegance, texture, consistency…it is not so complicated recognising a wine made in the vineyard -if well made- , from a wine built and made up in the cellar. It’s just a matter of trusting one’s palate, one’s tongue and the salivation one produces when the wine touches and runs on the tongue,  in case of a “terroir” wine.  Little by little, consumers begin to understand and tend to choose lively wines, those which express a landscape. We will never have the commercial power a premier Grand Cru from Bordeaux has, such as Hubert de Boüard who chose James Bond. Infact a bottle of Chateau Angélus can be seen for seven long seconds in Casino Royale, hence becoming the most popular wine amongst secret agents..But the wines from Valgiano are often drank by other vignerons, and many of them are French…they are our 007, without secrets!

Most people seem astonished by this year’s excess sun and heat after they were amazed by their scarcity in 2014. But yet, it had been written somewhere!

I have been buying Maria Thun’s Lunar calendar since 1999. In the beginning I couldn’t even read it, couldn’t understand a thing. Then it happened that

in December 2002, as the year was coming to an end, I read: “ …on July 16^th Jupiter enters in the sign of Cancer ( Water) and this will carry abundant summer rainfalls, the harvest of autumn fruits will not be of much quality”.

That was the first time I read the calendar 2003 paying a lot of attention to it.

Jupiter was due to in the sign of Leo ( Fire) and the summer was expected to be torrid. For the first time, I was prepared to face the season even though I just couldn’t trust theses writings and forecasts..

13 years later, in 2014 Jupiter is back in the sign of Cancer, then continues in 2015, in the sign of Leo. We now store the consequences on our skin, in the cellar and the vineyard. Is it a coincidence?

The Greeks spoke about them in their mythology, an ensemble of allegoric myths which describe the power of Nature.

Jupiter/Zeus, the king of the Gods, rules in the skies; other Gods linger under him whimsical and volitive. They meet and fight in a whirl of forces constantly moving. It would be sensible to observe the skies at least when urban fog and lightings allow us to do so. Until the day I find a meteorologist capable of forecasting the weather one year in advance, I’d rather count on the stars .

Our bees have produced a new honey, so delicious that and it has been nicknamed Ambrosia, the Gods’ nectar. We are proud to present the Miele di Spiaggia (beach honey), which comes from the coast. The place is the Lecciona  beach, part of the natural park of Migliarino San Rossore and Massaciuccoli. Here, the Thyrreanean waters wash the dunes and sand. It is the same  sea that mitigates the climate in the vineyards of Valgiano. And, during  the windy, “libeccio”days,  the salt is blown all the way up on to the olive trees’ leaves. On these dunes, between the pinewood and the shore, the bees live and savour the delights of the flowers of the Mediterranean scrub and the helicrysium meadows that stretch almost all the way to the shore bestowing on the honey a unique aroma. This is how the Miele di Spiaggia is born, sweet, but also with brackish notes, a of amber liquid until the autumn, when medium size grains begin to crystallise, whose aromas remain unaltered like those that can only be found on this beach during the hot summer days.

Towards the end of December , we planted a twenty acres vineyard, where there once used to be the ” Scasso dei Cesari “. It was an installation made by thirty families, back in the fifties who used the “scasso imperiale ” method. This consisted in digging a pit one metro deep, planting the vine shoot then re-cover with earth. From Cesari we did the massal selection with Marco Moroni’ s precious help to re plant Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Cigliegiolo and Vermentino.Then we rooted out the old vine ( in 2010), planted wheat and cover crop to rehabilitate and bring the soil back to balance. For a couple of years a phenomenal flour was produced out of the Verna and Gentil rosso wheats and we made delicious pasta and bread from it. We are going to miss it! During the summer we broke the soil because the old drainage system was no longer  efficient and needed restructuring.The other news is..Forci. Cancello, Orto, Santucci, Viani and Concetta are the names of the five vines that we have started managing since the beginning of the year after more than 15 months of abandon. The shoots resemble to liane, hard and entangled hence the pruning is a long and tiring duty.The ditches need to be fixed, as they can no longer hold water, there are patches where it seems more like a rice field. The Palistorti (crooked posts) in Valgiano are Palirotti (broken posts ) in Forci since we need to substitute more than 200 poles. Other than that, this hill is like a corner of paradise, an untouched landscape smooth and soothing made of woods and prairies, olive groves and few small vineyards. The position is ideal,  so is the soil, partly clayey but mostly calcareous. In the mornings we can start working early as there is no heavy dew.

As we wait for the wines to mature in the cellar, every evening I say hallo to a robin who comes in front of the kitchen, and also a female blackbird,; but she comers early in the morning, to eat the bread crumbs…she’s a cunning one! by Laura Collobiano forPietre Colorate – Spring 2013

How many millimetres of rain fell during the months of December and January? 240 mm + 217 mm (total rainfall = 457 mm = half a meter). How many landslides occurred? Quite a number of them here and there. A couple of miles south from our hill, an important road was closed because half of it collapsed in the water stream under it; on the hill in front of Valgiano, part of the driveway to a nice Villa perched on top of the Uliveto slid down the slope. The local, regional and other administrations who had been duly called beforehand and, after the disasters, emitted feeble communications that clumsily bounced from one office to the other saying…there is no money.. At least our soil is healthy, it is strong, well maintained, it is … alive! So let’s have a nice glass of Palistorti!

The first five RED leaves have appeared today on a vine shoot in the Scasso di Cima vineyard: It is autumn.
The air has cooled down, rainfalls are more frequent.
At last, we sleep better because all grapes have been picked. The last boxes were taken to the selection trays on September 25th. It all started August 21st.
The harvest began in a torrid heat to end up in medium fresh climate. The crop this year was not of excessive quantity; the early varieties have suffered more from the drought , hence giving a lower yield, but there was no withering , and, the other grapes, like Sangiovese, have given good yield …now that it has all become wine, we can sigh with relief.

Che effetto ritrovarsi dopo un inverno alpinofreddo e secco in una primavera tropicale.Le piante crescono, i funghi imperversanoe noi corriamo.