108 | October• 2018
“Monoculture is not agriculture,”
hesays.“Afarmislikeahuman:
youneedaheadandaheartandthe
organs to make the whole organism.”
Before I leave, we tour the cellar. As
we walk in the dank air between big
barrels of syrah, I notice the ceramic
casks are covered with chalk draw-
ings of butterlies, stars and rainbows:
the blissful, pastel-coloured world of
Amerighi’s seven-year-old daughter.
It is the starkest reminder that we are
nowhere near a factory farm.
houghtheymaybeseparatedby
hundreds of kilometres, these biody-
namic farmers are almost family.
“If there is a hailstorm, we call eachvineyard 120 kilometres south-east
of Florence. “The Metamorphosis
of Plantsexplains our philosophy.
Humanswastealot.Withthebio-
dynamic methods you don’t lose an-
ything, you use everything. Goethe
will help you understand.”
Amerighi has long, wavy hair, a
greying beard, wears tortoiseshell
glasses and carries a cigar.
Heleadsmedownadustypath
thatrunsbetweenlushgreenvines.
Although it is an oppressively hot
afternoon, the world inside the vines
feels cooler, almost air-conditioned.
Wearriveathispasture,hometo
Amerighi’s white Chianina cows.
Arianna Occhipinti’s
biodynamic wines were
among theirst of this type
to be praised by criticsPHOTOS: COURTESY AZIENDA AGRICOLA ARIANNA. OCCHIPINTI (LEFT); SUSAN WRIGHT (RIGHT)