When ancient winemaker were ready to age their vino , they institute out the amphora — multipurpose , narrow - necked Lucius Clay container with handles . ThePhoenicians , one of the great trading power 3000 years ago , stored wine as well ashoney , Milk River , and olive oilin them , and amphora check wine residue werefoundinKing Tutankhamen ’s grave . dealer in the Roman Empire used them totransport goodsaround the Mediterranean , and thanks to the clay containers ' popularity and tolerant circulation , plenty of them can be uncovered around the globe today .
Now , some advanced winemakers have begun experimenting with these ancient store methods . They say that senescence in amphora can even elevate the terroir — the characteristics imparted to vino by the environs in which the grapes are grown . In the evolving Earth of wine , the use of amphorae is a callback to the past tense , anchoring New wine drinkers tohistory .
Versatile Vessels
Recently , Gallic and Italian researchers discovered new hint to how ancient Romans made and storedwinein amphora , and how the vessels may have altered the drink ’s flavour . The scientist examined the coatings of three amphorae dating from the second and first 100 BCE , which had beenrecovered from the seabedabout 50 miles southeast of Rome . Chemical analysis found that both red and bloodless wines were lay in in them and that they had been waterproof withpine tar . Ancient wine maker used such rosin to seal their vessel as well as to control bacterium — and the means likely would have tot an redolent and herbal note to their wines .
The downside of these omnipresent containers were that they were fleshy and breakable . finally , the Romans lead off using other storage methods , such as barrels , a technology they nibble up from their settlement in Gaul ( present - day France ) . The Gallic method acting of store wine in barrels did n’t just make the vino easier to take back to Rome — it also gave the wine itself a different taste . The woodadds sapidity compoundsto wine , imparting notes that present as Eugenia caryophyllatum , vanilla , or chocolate aromas . So , while oak allow wine-colored to age slowly and steadily and evolve complex feeling , it also leaves its own mark .
Tinkering with Terroir
Some winemakers today are develop wine-coloured without those redundant notes , while still using the ancient amphorae as their containers of choice . Vineyard manager and winemaker Gelert Hart , of AmByth Estate in Paso Robles , California , says amphora are the gross vessels to use if wine maker want to allow the wine to take a breath without manipulating savour .
“ For wine-coloured to correctly go through all the unconscious process , it needs to have fundamental interaction with atomic number 8 , ” Hart tell Mental Floss . The gravid stomate in the thick terracotta stiff of the amphorae often leave more oxygen transfer than wooden gun barrel do , so “ the wine condenses and vinifies over fourth dimension to state the little nuances of terroir that would be cover up and shroud with [ a ] vas like oak , or not expressed enough in concrete or steel , ” he says .
The amphora ’s mud structure thus exposes vino to oxygen to bring out flavors , but without imparting powerful tannin from the wood . Plus , as the remains interact withenzymes in the wine , the wine ’s pH is raised , upgrade its bright sourness .
amphora have proven pop with biodynamic raiser like Hart , as well as some organic winegrowers , because it reach their carefully cultivate grapes a chance to shine .
A Taste of History?
Would the wines of the ancients have been anything like today ’s amphora - of age wines ? It seems unlikely , since today ’s amphora are missing a cardinal ingredient : They are n’t seal with pine resin during the fermentation process . get out amphorae unseal set aside that lilliputian amount of O in to the aging wine , bring out its optimum flavour and character . “ I have heard of amphora lined with beeswax , but that completely vote down the purpose of [ age it this way ] , ” Hart say . Without the resin , you wo n’t get those piney tones .
Curious oenophile looking for a jot of the ancient flavor profile could seek out retsina . This Greek wine-coloured was originally lay in in amphorae seal with pine resin , which gave it a racy preeminence ; today ’s retsina is still flavored with the resin ofAleppo true pine tree diagram . The blending could provide a good idea of how wines mature in the ancient way may have savour .
But in some cases , older winemaking routines might be best result in the past . In the nineties , a historian recreated vino as it was made long ago , using a formula from a 1st - century BCE text by Cato . Itcalled for seawaterto be placed in earthenware jug prior to the fruit being lend . This salinityhelped to bear on vino , but made it undrinkably salty .
Even if today ’s amphora - senior wine do n’t try quite like the wines ofantiquity , experimental winemakers are blending history and modern knowledge to carry on the tradition .
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