Chateau Monty Chateau Monty: What Happened Next

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12. Monty's a huge advocate of growing your own (Image 12 of 13)

Rich: Is biodynamic wine something you see as becoming more mainstream?

Monty: Less than 2% of the world's vineyards are certified organic or biodynamic, but it's growing. In the last few years interest in biodynamic wine has gone off the scale. People use at least some biodynamic practices, like pruning with the moon and making compost. In local winemaking communities, those who have gone biodynamic have seen improvements in taste and in ease of manufacturing and it's having an impact on their neighbours.

Some biodynamic principles have come full circle because a lot of the older generation are used to pruning with the moon and work with herbal teas and so on, but the younger generations sometimes find it all a bit mad. The postwar generation has grown up with fertilisers as the norm and it's a real shame. We can learn a lot from the older generations, and we need to before that knowledge is lost. Chemical farming has done a lot of damage to local communities - if you need one guy spraying weed killer instead of three guys ploughing with a horse then those extra two guys don't have jobs. They'll more often than not move to the city with their families, so the local school and shop might close. Agricultural communities have declined as chemical farming has boomed. Most of us now live in cities and are fat couch potatoes who spend all day watching ridiculous telly programmes like Chateau Monty! We should be outside, growing our own food.

When I was young we grew our own food but know I know very few people who do that. Carrots, radishes, lettuce - full of vitamins, don't take up much space and they're very easy to grow. People have realised that miracle baking doesn't work in the long term, and neither does miracle farming. Allotments are really taking off in this country, which is great. You cut down on air miles, you are forced to talk to your neighbour, and you learn invaluable skills. It's incredibly fulfilling to eat something you've grown yourself. It’s only a few minutes out of your day and it's fun!

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