From dynamic to biodynamic

When winemaker Steve Lubiana left his home in the Riverland in search of a cool climate vineyard site, he didn't reckon on settling in Tasmania's Derwent Valley, 20 kilometres north of Hobart. He expected he'd end up in Western Australia's Margaret River, or South Australia's Adelaide Hills. 

That was the conventional wisdom of the day for young winemakers five years out of Roseworthy College, with a couple of European vintages under their belt.

But southern Tasmania – with its mild maritime climate and long hours of bright summer sunshine – made a big impression on Lubiana and his wife Monique. They spent part of 1989 touring the State on their honeymoon.

With some careful planning and a bit of hard yakka, the couple reckoned Tassie would be the ideal place to put down roots and make world-class wines.

It didn't take them long to find their ideal place. The Lubianas purchased their Granton property overlooking the river in 1990.

Making world-class wines took a little more time, but they got there in the end.

"We didn't think it would take quite this long," Steve Lubiana muses, pleased as punch that his 2014 Estate Pinot Noir was among the star performers at this year's International Wine Challenge.

The wine won the IWC Biodynamic Trophy 2016, one of four Planet Earth Awards. The trophy was presented at last month's IWC Awards Dinner held in London.

The same wine won the Tasmanian Pinot Noir Trophy, a key Regional Trophy. It was the only Australian Pinot Noir to figure among the Challenge's bevy of trophy winners.

Over 15,000 wine entries were submitted to the competition from more than 50 different countries.

Judging involved 400+ wine experts from across the globe. Multi-stage blind tastings were required to manage the vast entry numbers. Panel members included Masters of Wine, wine buyers, wine sommeliers, and winemakers.

In congratulating the Lubianas on winning the Biodynamic Trophy, Co-Chairman of the IWC Charles Metcalfe remarked that it was wonderful to see the commitment being made to sustaining the environment by biodynamic winegrowers.

"The calibre of these wines proves that you don't need to compromise on quality when creating eco-friendly wines," he added.

Biodynamics first rose to prominence in the 1920s with the work of Austrian scientist and philosopher, Rudolf Steiner. Its core principles are driven by sustainability, biodiversity and respect for the earth.

"The origins of biodynamics actually precede Steiner and are based on ancient farming practices – devised centuries ago – that take into account various lunar events and other cosmic influences," Lubiana explains.

"It's about maintaining respect for nature and working with its rhythms. We forego the use of chemicals in the vineyard and instead feed our soils and strengthen our vines with compost teas, natural minerals and various plant-based preparations."

When Granton Vineyard first sprang to life with a couple of hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the couple managed the site according to conventional farming and viticultural practices.

By 2008, the Lubianas had decided it was time to explore more earth-friendly approaches. They began the long and exacting process of converting their 18ha vineyard to biodynamic management.

In 2013, Granton Vineyard became Tasmania's first certified biodynamic vineyard.

"Stefano Lubiana Wines wasn't established according to a ten or 20-year plan," says Steve says.

"It's being set up for the long haul, for 50 or maybe 100 years. Who knows? It's about showing respect for the land. It's not focused on how quick or how big we can grow. It's about working with nature to create a sustainable business where we can make good wines to enjoy with family and friends.

"This land we're living on has to be managed as a viable working environment that can sustain a whole range of living things. It means creating greater genetic diversity of life forms and reducing monoculture, especially in the vineyard."

There are more utilitarian reasons, he adds.

"I've not only got Monique and our family to worry about, I've also got the health and safety of a team of vineyard workers to think about.

"The idea that employees should be required to put on gloves and masks to work with dangerous chemicals on a regular basis is not something I want to buy into. I'm just not prepared to put their health and everybody else's health at risk. We need to find environmentally-friendly ways of doing things on our land.

"Our vineyard operations here have been low impact since the early 2000s."

Composting is an important process across the property.

"We focus on feeding our soils rather than simply feeding the vines," Lubiana continues.

Composting is an important process.

"It's not just a matter of soil conditioning and improving water retention, though both are pretty important.

"Biodynamic compost – along with selected biodynamic preparations and compost teas – create sustainable levels of biodiversity that enhance plant health. That in turns allow each vine's natural defence mechanisms to fight off disease.

"If you work hard to get your vineyard and your soils into a really healthy state in terms of their structure and fungal activity, then your vines will be able to access everything they need by themselves. That's far more preferable than using what are effectively mineral salts and simply force-feeding them to your vines.

"We use a range of biodynamic preparations to create our compost. They're essentially bio-stimulants or homeopathic tonics. They help create the right kinds of conditions for beneficial things to happen."

These so-called 'preps' are purchased from suppliers interstate or from Bio-Dynamics Tasmania. The latter also organises field days and workshops throughout the year for interested persons.

Lubiana planned to create biodynamics' renowned Preparation 500 on his property, but that was easier said than done.

"Good quality cow horns are very difficult to source in Tasmania, and there's a significant cost associated with purchasing them. More importantly, when we eventually tried creating our own 500 we found the results were disappointing. The 500 we could purchase commercially was actually better than that we could make ourselves.

"I think the main reason is that we have such low soil fertility and low annual rainfall. Rainfall here has been declining steadily since the early 2000s."

Another feature of the vineyard's nutrition program is its rotational mid-row cover-cropping. Fava beans have provided the best option. Lubiana says resident native hens leave them alone, but will eat up every pea and lupin seed they can find.

Under-vine cultivation is carried out by hand-hoeing, coupled with the use of purpose-built mechanical weeders and a crawler tractor. Baby Southdown sheep become part of a workforce over winter, treading lightly on the site's complex mix of soil types.

Responsible land management will always offer its challenges, Lubiana admits.

"We're aiming to improve quality of wine production, not quantity. It's a process – a slow and steady one – but it's one we reckon is at least heading in the right direction."

To international success it seems.

Postscript 2018:  In July 2018 – barely five years into production as a fully certified biodynamic vineyard – Stefano Lubiana Wines won its third IWC Biodynamic Trophy in a row at the prestigious London event. The winning wine was the 2016 Stefano Lubiana Ruscello Pinot Noir. It was also awarded the Tasmanian Pinot Noir Trophy as well as the Australian Pinot Noir Trophy.

The 2013 Stefano Lubiana Sasso Pinot Noir won the 2017 IWC Biodynamic Trophy and the Tasmanian Pinot Noir Trophy.

Three successive International Wine Challenges. Seven trophies in total.

Last page update: 20 January 2026