As every year, a “magic” shower has just sprayed the vineyards of the Marchisio Family: these are drops of special water, dynamized with the biodynamic method inspired by Rudolf Steiner. «It’s a real sprinkling, performed by hand and with a precise rhythm, which recalls a real dance: a few drops of water spray fall on the ground, just 30 liters per hectare», Fabio Marchisio explains. Together with his brother Ivo, Fabio runs the 25 hectares of the family with passion, in their certified organic farm. That water, according to Steiner, has a decisive power: it “informs” the plants of the imminence of spring, renewing their “memory” and preparing them with enthusiasm for the return of the vegetative period.

The secret of that water? Easy: agitated for a long time, clockwise and then counterclockwise, it received the bovine manure collected even two years earlier, on a special day: September, 29th. After sunset, the fertilizer – inserted in the horn-manure – had been buried in the vineyard, only to be unearthed at Easter. Once removed from the earth – Fabio Marchisio recalls – the manure-horns face a second life: they rest in the dark, in the cellar, protected by a cherry wood chest, recommended for the particular quality of its tannic component. Finally – and we are in winter 2020 – the content of the horns (the manure has now become dust) is dissolved in the water, carefully dynamized before being sprayed between the rows.

These are accurate maneuvers, which follow precise procedures. For example: water must be lukewarm. The energetic mixture of the horn-manure is powerful: for each hectare, 20 grams of organic powder are enough. It is a strategic fertilizer, which “speaks” also to the essence of the vines, to their “soul”. Year after year, the practice of horn-manure and dynamized water (together with green manure and additional fertilization, entrusted to biodynamic cumulus) contributes formidably to increase the natural fertility of the soil. Results: richer and deeper, fragrant, intense wines. Ther’s certainly no lack of work: there are 150 horns that Sergio Marchisio prepares every year, together with his sons. Once the content is “freeze-dried” and dissolved in the dynamizer, all that remains is to proceed, with patience, to spread 60 liters of water, walking – or rather, dancing – among the rows. A few weeks, and the vineyards will show their joy, with a green explosion.