Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/744999
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m N o v - D e c 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 7 1 principles and practices of Deme- ter biodynamics? Ed King [ EK ] I'm a skeptic myself about things when I don't fully understand the explanation. But as we've learned, much of bio- dynamics does make sense. For example, King Estate isn't a mono- culture dominated by vines. Vine- yards, in fact, cover less than half of the estate. In the rest, we have berries, orchards, gardens, wet- lands and woodlands. We look at the estate as a complex organism where diversity and complexity are favored over a single-plant system. This makes sense to me. [ V&WM ] According to Deme- t e r b i o d y n a m i c p r i n c i p l e s , a n agricultural property should be self-contained and self-sustaining. In other words, it should be able to create and maintain everything it needs to stay healthy and productive. Can you give us a couple of exam- ples of how King Estate does this? [ EK ] Having open fields means we can grow our own cover crop seed, which increases our self-sufficiency by limiting what we have to bring in from off the estate. And we have this fabulous way of using plant waste on- site that results in many hundreds of tons of compost per year. [ V&WM ] Some critics suggest that biodynamics is more a spiri- tual conviction than a scientific approach. [ EK ] Maybe we can't explain all biodynamic principles from a sci- baseball player — also with no evi- dence that I could make a living that way. [ V&WM ] In addition to your com- mitment to responsible viticulture, entific perspective, but what dif- ference can some of these simple gestures toward natural healing and health make to a big and dense vineyard? When I think of some of the advice we've received in the name of science — such as an entire toxicopia of synthetic fertil- izers, DDT, Agent Orange, Round- up — do you think I care about science's disapproval? I don't. [ V&WM ] You were born and raised in the Kansas City area. What did you want to be when you grew up? [ EK ] After I learned that a cow- boy/frontiersman career was going to be impractical, I joined my peers in planning to be a major league + Birthplace: Kansas City, Mo. + Current Position: Co-founder and CEO of King Estate + Professional Background: King has been founder, co-founder, CEO and partner in various business enterprises — and still is. He also founded Oak Hill School (Eugene, Ore.), a private college prep school that covers kindergarten through 12th grade. + Education: University of Kansas (BA), University of Missouri (Juris Doctor) and University of Oregon (MBA). + Personal Interests: Literature, design, family, fitness, business creation and growing plants ED KING'S RÉSUMÉ The Willamette Valley estate is the largest certified biodynamic vineyard in the United States.