En Rama

Literally, “in an unrefined state.” The name of fino or manzanilla Sherries drawn from barrels in the spring when the flor is thickest, then immediately bottled—usually unfined and without stabilization. En rama Sherries are extremely fresh and vivid and last mere months because they are so fragile. The equivalent of drinking Sherry directly from the cask, en rama Sherries are extremely rare on the commercial market.

Biodynamic farming, a practice that views a vineyard as a regenerative and living organism, was first practiced in vineyards in California.

Answer: False.

The first well known winery to practice biodynamic farming was in France, in the Loire Valley. It's name: Coulée de Serrant. As developed by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s, and later expanded on by his followers, biodymanics is a holistic system of living agriculture whereby the soil and plants growing in it are nurtured through natural forces. Biodynamics envisions soils and plants as living in a sort of middle world influenced from below by the forces of the earth, and influenced from above by the cosmos. So for example, vines are fertilized using compost created on the farm and are pruned according to the movement of the moon through the twelve houses of the zodiac—all in order to achieve ultimate harmony with the forces of Nature.

Flor

Literally, “flower.” A layer of yeast cells that forms naturally on top of manzanilla and fino Sherries as they age in casks. Flor acts to prevent oxidation and also contributes a unique tanginess to the… Continue reading

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