ur primary goal in this endeavor is to make memorable wines which are delicious and express the site on which they are grown. After visiting and speaking with scores of wine growers in France, California, and many others places around the world, we believe that grapes grown in harmony with nature will make the best wine. Time and again we were told that by working with nature as much as possible, growers are able to tease more unique and complex flavors from their grapes. However, this is easier said than done. The vineyard challenges we face in the East are daunting: high humidity and rainfall create the ideal conditions for disease, most of the world's major grape pests originated right here in the Eastern US, and our weed growth is unmatched. However, we believe that things are not as bad as they seem—our weather is comparable to Bordeaux's, which has numerous organic vineyards, and along with our native pests come all of their native predators. At Black Ankle Vineyards we do everything we can to create healthy vines which can ward off disease, and supplement with sprays made from herbs, compost, elemental minerals, etc. which discourage pests without throwing off the ecological balance in the vineyard. We rely on chemical intervention only when absolutely necessary. It is this elusive balance that we are striving for, because we believe a balanced environment will lead to a balanced, healthy vine and more complex and interesting wines.

We have also made the decision to farm with the principles of Biodynamics, the original Organic farming movement which was founded by the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in the 1920's. Biodynamics adds several dimensions to our work on the farm: working as much as possible by the rhythms of the moon, planets and seasons; a strong emphasis on biodiversity; a goal of self-sufficiency (or as close as possible) for the farm as a whole; and a belief that our farm is a system of interrelated organisms, so that what happens in any one place affects the entire farm.

Since we purchased the property in May of 2002, we have made and applied compost in place of chemical fertilizers and we have never used herbicides of any kind. We use 100% biodiesel fuel to power our tractors. With each passing year, we learn more about how to discourage pests naturally, and we continue to experiment with new pest management ideas. Although we are not yet able to farm 100% organically, we are optimistic that with more research and ingenuity we will get there before too long.