1. Sustainable Agriculture
– Man-made chemicals are not prohibited but their use is restricted.
– In-depth understanding of the lifecycle of pests and monitoring weather patterns/forecasts to predict and prevent pest or disease outbreak before it happens.
– Integrated pest management – predators of certain pests are encouraged to live in the vineyard to control pest populations naturally.
– Vineyard biodiversity is essential – avoiding a monoculture of vines – habitats for predators and nutrients for vines when mowed and ploughed into the soil.
2. Organic Agriculture
– Encompasses many of the same concepts as sustainable agriculture but only a very limited number of the more traditional treatments against pests and diseases is allowed.
– Accreditation is required for an organic certification body.
3. Biodynamic Agriculture
– Adopts organic practices but also incorporates philosophy and cosmology.
– Vineyard soil is seen as part of a connected system with the Planet, air and other planets.
– Practitioners adapt grape growing practices to coincide with the cycles of the planets, moon and stars.
– Homeopathic remedies called ͚preparations͛ are used to fertilise the soil, treat diseases and ward off pests.
– Certification bodies exist.
