Biodynamic wine tasting event Return to Terroir returns to Melbourne

Return to Terroir is a gathering of exceptional winemakers from Europe, North and South America, South Africa and Australia – and next year's Melbourne tasting of their wares will be open to the public as well as to the wine trade. It is only the second time this group has come to Australia; the first was for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival in 2011.

The 2015 line-up for the festival is yet to be finalised but is expected to number about 40 and include Champagne F. Bedel, Coulée de Serrant, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht and Nikolaihof alongside Australian wineries Castagna, Cullen, Jasper Hill, Ngeringa and Cobaw Ridge.

Beechworth-based Julian Castagna is one of just six Australian members of the 180-strong Return to Terroir organisation. Since being invited to join in 2003 he has attended one or two Return to Terroir gatherings each year, and he says a highlight of next year's Melbourne event is its accessibility. Curious wine drinkers are as welcome as the trade, and the fee is a very reasonable $65. "In New York, for example, for the public to come it is $250," he says.

For Castagna, the thing that makes Return To Terroir tastings stand out from other wine shows is what he describes as the "life and vitality" of every wine. "This was something I'd never experienced across the board before (prior to becoming part of Return to Terroir). The wines had this energy, this life force. Even the wines I didn't like had it. It was simply remarkable – you could look at 50 wines and 50 of them have it. For me, that's what biodynamics are. It gives vitality and life."

Biodynamics is a system of organic farming based on principles set down by Rudolf Steiner. To the uninitiated many of its practices seem eccentric or actively bizarre – for example, timing vineyard tasks according to a lunar calendar. Not all biodynamic winegrowers embrace all Steiner's spiritual beliefs but its holistic nature appeals to many.

Margaret River's Vanya Cullen, whose name is almost a fixture on lists of Australia's best winemakers, gained biodynamic certification 10 years ago. For her, biodynamics is part of a bigger sustainability picture. "It is about making quality wine sustainably and caring for the earth. Not using toxic chemicals which kill."

Cullen joined Return to Terroir two years after becoming certified. For her, what differentiates these shows is the fact that because everyone is a biodynamic producer they share an ethos. Such producers are mostly small and the people pouring the wines are typically hands-on winemakers rather than full-time salespeople.

Cullen came to Melbourne for Return To Terroir's first Australian appearance at the 2011 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. She recalls a strong turnout and "a really great vibe" that came from the mix of public tasters in the room as well as the sommeliers and commercial buyers usually found at high-calibre trade shows. Cullen is looking forward to seeing the 2015 line-up confirmed, as she says part of the show's appeal is the chance for her to try new vintages from like-minded winemakers from around the world.

Criteria to join Return to Terroir are stringent. According to rules listed by its founder, French winemaker Nicolas Joly, members must adhere to a strict charter concerning vineyard and cellar practices, starting with bans on synthetic chemical fertilisers and weed killers in vineyards; using only wild yeasts; and no wood chips in winemaking. This is just the beginning: many more rules aim to ensure that the wines express the character of the place they were grown.

Julian Castagna says winemakers who wish to join must submit their wines to a panel for tasting: if only one panellist does not think the wines make the grade, they are refused.

Castagna says the strict rules around biodynamic certification do not guarantee that all biodynamic wines are great wines, but the best of them are extraordinary. "If you have the wrong piece of land or the wrong variety the wine may not be very good – but somehow it still has that life. But if you can get it right – have the right piece of land, then grow the right variety and you farm with integrity … what you get is just magic in its life and its freshness – this wine that seems to be alive."

Return to Terroir, February 28-March 1, Melbourne Town Hall, $65

Also in wine, events the Perfect Match series helps participants find out which wines work best with Korean food; why shellfish and wine are made for each other; and whether there's more to street-food drink pairings than burgers and beer, tacos and tequila.

Plus, the Acqua Panna Global Wine Experience: global benchmark wine tastings with leading wine writers, educators and producers including Vanya Cullen, David Bicknell, Kath Quealy and Lisa Perotti-Brown.