Tapping into the Vine Mind with Virginia Samsel

Virginia Samsel at a Vineyard in ??

Some people can tell a lot about a plant by looking at it. But how about by listening to it? For Virginia Samsel, (one of the only?) performers of vineyard reiki, vines, and other agricultural products have a lot to say–if people would just listen. 

Virginia Samsel is in fact, originally from Richmond, Virginia, and it was there that she first stepped into the food service business. She says, “I have a BFA in painting and sculpture, so I obviously worked in restaurants for a large chunk of my life.” She ultimately got a job in a small old-world wine bar in Richmond, Virginia which she describes as her “side door” into the world of wine. While most people enter through a large rigid market focused on big-name producers, she was initially exposed to smaller-scale and biodynamic producers. As a buyer, she would meet with company reps that would showcase a wide variety of wines. But she noticed that some reps would be very offhanded about biodynamic wines, despite their labor-intensive nature. 

If you have been to a small wine shop lately, you might have seen the term “biodynamic” on colorful labels or thrown around by someone pouring tastings. Biodynamic wines are made with biodynamic agriculture processes, which incorporate organic farming methods as well as the application of soil supplements following a planting calendar set by astrological configurations. It is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, educator, and controversial character, whose philosophy is based on the belief that there is a spiritual world that underlies and interconnects the physical world. His development of biodynamic agriculture mostly predated the organic movement, and it seeks to promote soil, plant, and animal health by working in harmony with the natural cycles of the earth. Think sustainable farming with a more mystical vibe. 

So back to Virginia. She was working as a wine buyer and starting to realize that biodynamic wines needed more stewardship when it came to marketing and presentation. After all, at the core of biodynamics is the effort to nurture the connections between plants, ecosystems, and other living things. She also noticed that North American wine growers would insist that while they practiced biodynamics, they didn’t do “that part.” Virginia recognized that winemakers were hesitant to incorporate the cosmic element of biodynamics because they were worried they wouldn’t be taken seriously. She also acknowledged the difficulty of focusing on that spiritual connection when trying to run a business. Virginia realized she could use her background in reiki and winemaking to help facilitate the more spiritual aspects of biodynamics for wine growers. 

Reiki is a term you may have heard at a spa or wellness retreat. The word “Reiki” is derived from the Japanese words “rei” which means universal, and “ki” which means life force energy. The practice is based on the belief that all living things have a life force energy, and imbalances in this energy can lead to physical, emotional, and spiritual problems. The idea is that there is energy all around us, and through Reiki, you can harness that energy for healing. Reiki practitioners use their hands to channel the life force energy to the recipient, promoting balance in their energy system. Virginia figured that since this energy exists in all living things, why not use Reiki practices to communicate with grapes?

To practice Reiki in the field, Virginia starts by using meditation practices to center herself in a vineyard and then begins walking around the site and using her body to pick up shifts in energy. She absorbs this information in the form of colors, sensations, and emotions. For example, an area of the vineyard might make her feel sad even though she has no reason to feel that way personally. Using her body as a register to track different feelings as she moves through a vineyard, she transposes them on her map. 

It turns out that people and grapevines are not so different, and each site has its own personality. For example, one area might be quiet, studious, and focused on production. Another spot might be bright and sociable, indicating a suitable place for a tasting room or to host events. Sometimes there is a plot that serves as the communicator for the rest of the vineyard. There might be an area that doesn’t have a good sense of itself, in which case, Virginia would work on building the boundaries so the site can know where it exists and what vineyard it's a part of. Vineyard reiki could be used to figure out the layout of a new vineyard, but it could also support vineyard resilience. At one of the first sites Virginia ever worked with, a frost came early, and she used reiki to warn the vineyard and tell it to focus on warmth. The winemaker felt like the site benefited from that work and wasn’t as affected as other sites. 

For Virginia, at the core of biodynamic farming and energy work in agriculture is the desire and need to reconnect with the land. In parts of the world, particularly in native communities, families have been on the same land for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and have an incredibly profound understanding of the landscape and its natural cycles. But modern industrial agriculture has promoted uniformity and efficiency, disregarding the unique character of the land and resulting in extractive practices that have harmed soils, resources, and biodiversity. Recognizing that the land is very much alive and communicating with us, no matter how we choose to receive it, feels like a first step in stewarding it.