Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/913027
{ real somm stories } 104 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2017/2018 they also offer incentives to vineyard partners who'd like to make the transition themselves. "Jean-Charles believes in homeopathic meth - ods, but also feels that they better respect the terroir by farming in a way that's natural to the land and amplifies the flavors of the loca - tion," noted Joe Papendick, the Boisset Garden Manager who oversees everything "that's green, alive, and not a vine." We continued to discuss the certification process as we walked with Papendick through the vine rows and snacked on clusters of Chardonnay bursting with honey and lemon. Demeter certification requires that the estate set aside 10 percent of the land to promote biodiversity; this designated area at DeLoach, referred to as the Theater of Nature, is planted with native flora to attract beneficial insects. It also contains hives for honey bees to assist with pollination for their chef 's garden. "Biodynamics look at the estate as a living organism," explained Papendick, adding that the goal is to promote the health of the land so it can bolster its own fertility and immune system. We often look at Biodynamics as odd or even supernatural, yet our afternoon with Papendick converted a few non-believers. "I've read about Biodynamics and I really thought a lot of it was hocus pocus, but it makes sense now. I'm really coming around to it," admitted Chris Schneider, Sommelier at Dickie Brennan & Co. in New Orleans, Louisiana. Burgundy and Beyond When it comes to their winemaking back- ground, the Boisset family comes from humble beginnings. In 1961, Jean-Claude and Claudine Boisset purchased grapes from a neighbor- ing vineyard in Burgundy to make their first barrel of wine, which they sold door to door. Three years later, they bought Les Evocelles in Gevrey-Chambertin—their first vineyard plot. "Today, Boisset has 25 properties across California and France and is the leading pro - ducer in Burgundy," stated Vice President of Sales Ken Hoernlein. After our tour of the estate, Hoernlein and Director of Winemaking Brian Maloney led us through a comparative terroir tasting of wine from Boisset's Burgundy properties and their "neighborhood" wines of DeLoach. We started with the 2014 white Burgundies, which did not disappoint. "Really, what makes good winegrowing regions in this area is upheaval, and that whole area was an ancient sea bed," Hoernlein explained in an introductive over - view of the region's soils and tectonics. Maloney followed by reigning the somms back in to California, where he pointed out the similarities in geology (albeit with younger Brian Maloney, Director of Winemaking at DeLoach Vineyards, leads a comparative Burgundian and Californian terroir tasting. The lunar calendar, featured here in the DeLoach vineyards, is an important part of Biodynamic winegrowing. Beehives are installed in the Theater of Nature at DeLoach.