There are increasing numbers of vineyards that are “going biodynamic,” utilizing these weird practices that were first espoused by Rudolf Steiner at the end of the nineteenth century. Indeed, some of the very highest quality wines and most expensive like for instance Romani – Conti are biodynamically farmed.
The explanation is not that these weird practices are the direct cause of increased wine quality; it is that in performing these practices the growers are taking obsessive care of their vines.
Another crucial factor is climate and biodynamic viticulture thrives in dry climates. Perpignan is the hottest driest city in France and is the capital of biodynamic viticulture. So you can imagine in Virginia with an annual rainfall of 36 inches there may be one or two organic vineyards, but I do not know of one biodynamic vineyard in Virginia.

“Biodynamic viticulture respects the fundamental mysteries of nature and the human soul. Excellence sometimes requires us to operate outside the shallow waters currently illuminated by science and wade into territory where formulas fail. “

In The Winery

Emily and Elliott Evan Chris Jolie – 5 members of the team 5 Gold Medals – Team Work!!!

Gold medals – Governor’s Cup:

Above all he was described as a gentleman’s gentleman. He will be sorely missed and as David Mcintyre notes “his influence will live on.”

The Farmhouse is booming.
Person of the month -Brandon Masters

Brandon Masters is feeling right at home.
I asked Brandon to write me a brief bio that I have done my best to summarize;
Brandon is from the University of Hard Knocks. He dreamed of becoming famous through his artistic culinary skills and worked his way up the hard way as chefs do learning skills from their mentors. He came to us having been the executive chef at Newcomb Hall at UVA.
His own words capture the character of the man.
“Now in my 20th year of professional cooking, I absolutely love being part of the team at Veritas and working with Chef Daniel. We put on a show for our guests every night painting plates and orchestrating a symphony of flavors and colors. The space that I’m given to be creative and express my own Moxy is a rarity in my personal experience, a rarity in our business. I currently live in Charlottesville where in my time away from the Farmhouse. I enjoy spending time with my two sons Sawyer and Finnegan, cycling, writing and performing music with friends.”

Family

I always include a section on the family in my newsletters. I think the family news is probably the main reason people open the newsletter, that by the way after almost 15 years is still the most frequently opened of all our missives. However disappointingly I didn’t get much traction on my blog posts but that may have been a function of lack of internet access.
Thankfully we have all escaped the ravages of Covid19 and to my delight, all of the most vulnerable old fogies in our family have received full immunization (If you want to be really picky the word “vaccination” refers only to the use of vaccinia which is an Orthopox virus related to cowpox and smallpox).
So, I always feature our granddaughters of which I have six – all girls and the oldest is Lydia.

Lydia is as old as the newsletter -15 years, can you believe it!
She is an honors student who other than school work lives to row and she excels at that too!


Hailey is three months younger than Lydia and I hate to be repetitive, but Hailey is an honors student who other than school work loves to run and she excels at that too!

Charlotte is a free spirit. Now 12 years old, she insists the she is almost 13. She loves music – piano, singing, art and don’t forget gardening.

Amelia, known to friends and family as “Mimi,” will be 12 in April. Like Charlotte she enjoys life at school, on the LAX team and on the basketball court.

And then there are the weenies, and who knows how they will turn out, but if they are anything like their older cuzzes the future looks pretty bright.

Isla and Elsie Watkins

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