Seminar Review

Animals in the vineyard – how do sheep and other animals benefit the soil and vines?

This was ‘Animals in the Vineyard’. A seminar organised in collaboration with the Austrian Rural Training Institute (LFI) wien.lfi.at and respekt-BIODYN at the Loimer Winery www.loimer.at n the Kamptal.

The seminar room was packed to capacity. Interested winegrowers had travelled from all of Austria’s wine-growing regions to explore this important topic. The focus was on biodiversity as an active component of a living vineyard and the question of how sheep and other animals can strengthen the resilience of the vines.

• Biodynamic consultant Georg Meißner began by outlining the relationship between animals, humans and nature from a biodynamic perspective.
  
  
• Winemaker and expert Olympia Samara then analysed the pros and cons of keeping animals in the vineyard, using figures, data and facts, with a particular focus on sheep. Which breeds of sheep are suitable for what purposes? What are the arguments for and against summer and winter grazing? How do the soils change in terms of microorganisms, minerals, CO₂ sequestration and structure? And what opportunities and risks does keeping animals in the vineyard entail? Fascinating topics that sparked plenty of questions and discussions.
  
  
• After the lunch break, our host Fred Loimer took us out to the Kellerberg to see his flock of sheep. He has been keeping Bavarian Forest sheep in the vineyard since 2007 and can no longer imagine doing things any other way. He is prepared to accept the occasional damage to the vines; the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. This is true on an emotional level too. When you keep animals, you build a relationship with them.
  
  
• Fred gave a brief insight into his compost-making process before we headed back to the winery. There, we were treated to a tasting of base wines for sparkling wine, as well as Grüner Veltliner and Riesling from Loiser Berg and Kellerberg.

Many thanks to Fred Loimer for his hospitality, to Olympia Samara and Georg Meißner for their fascinating talks, and to all the participants for their insightful questions and lively discussion!

Wer Interesse an weiteren Seminaren und Veranstaltungen der respekt-Gruppe hat, kann sich gerne unter seminar@respekt-biodyn.bio registrieren.