Calverton farm Farrm Wines earns biodynamic certification from Demeter USA
Rex and Connie Farr’s Youngs Avenue farm in Calverton won biodynamic certification, a whole-farm standard that could sharpen its edge in Suffolk’s wine market.
Rex and Connie Farr added a new credential to their Youngs Avenue farm in Calverton on May 14, when Farrm Wines received biodynamic certification from Demeter USA. For Suffolk wine buyers, the label matters because it covers the entire farm, not just one vineyard block, and it comes from the only certifier for biodynamic farms and products in the United States.
The standard is stricter than organic farming. Demeter says a farm that is already organically farmed must meet its biodynamic standard for at least one year before certification, and the whole property has to qualify. In practice, that means the farm has to demonstrate how it manages soil, vines, water, insects and weather across the full operation. Rex Farr has said biodynamic farming is about close observation of the land, not mysticism.
That philosophy has defined the Farrs’ work for decades. They bought the former potato field in 1984, converted it to organic farming in 1985 and became Long Island’s first certified organic farm in 1990. Farrm Wines says no synthetic chemicals have been used on the farm since 1985, and that it has practiced biodynamic production since 1995. In 2005, the family preserved 20 acres and planted 8.5 acres of Bordeaux grapes, including Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petite Verdot.
The certification gives Farrm Wines a stronger position in a crowded East End market where farming credentials can shape a bottle’s value as much as the vintage itself. Biodynamic certification can support premium pricing because it gives buyers another verified standard to weigh, especially at tasting rooms, farm shops and on restaurant lists where provenance is part of the sale. Farrm Wines also says it is Long Island’s only 100 percent certified organic vineyard, a distinction that helps place the Calverton operation in the upper tier of the region’s farm-to-bottle branding.
The milestone also fits a longer public record of environmental recognition. In 2025, Rex and Connie Farr were named Environmentalists of the Year by the Sierra Club Long Island Group. For Suffolk County, the new certification is less a sudden pivot than the formal recognition of a farming model the Farrs have spent 40 years building on the North Fork.
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