12 September 2024 / Borbála Kalmár
A few years ago I had the pleasure of spending a few months in Italy, in a rather small village. I remember being amazed when I searched in vain for the spice rack in the shop: at the time, I found it hard to imagine that a dish could be edible without a lot of spices. As the years went by and I gradually became more and more involved in the world of gastronomy, I increasingly felt that less is more: it is better to focus on the ingredients rather than spices, and a few leaves from the bounty of the balcony box are enough to add some flavour.
Why do winemakers use amphorae?
Anyone familiar with the above will probably easily identify with this winemaking process. Viticulture and winemaking itself are roughly as old as mankind: there is plenty of research to show that our ancestors were already enjoying wine thousands of years ago. This is all the more so since our ancestors were long unable to purify drinking water, and the disinfecting effect of alcohol made wine a safe alternative. Of course, at that time there were hardly any wines with 15% alcohol; they were rather around 5-6% and thus also had higher residual sugar.
Containers were also needed for storing and transporting early wines: amphorae were used for this purpose as early as the 15th century BC. Hence, the name itself refers to the contemporary earthenware vessels with handles that could be easily lifted. Today, this connotation has changed a lot, and in fact any terracotta, clay or even concrete can be used to make such a wine container - regardless of shape or size.
The material is important. It does not impart barrel aromas to the wine, but it does provide porosity, meaning that exposure to oxygen (in technical language, micro-oxidation), which is essential for the development of wine, takes place in these containers in the same way as in a barrel. The micro-oxidation process also gives the wine extra flavours and aromas - something that is missing in protective (stainless steel tank) winemaking.
The wine therefore has greater intensity and aromatics but without the presence of oak spice in the final product; in other words, the grape and its flavours play the leading role. And just like in cooking, the winemaker can choose to omit the spices - which opens up new possibilities.
The diversity of amphora winemaking
It is perhaps easy to deduce from the introduction that amphorae have become the preferred option for organic, biodynamic and natural wine producers: they are often used by growers who focus on growing fruit in the healthiest, chemical-free way possible. The amount of sulphur dioxide used in their wines is usually also a key factor, so it is important that, depending on the porosity of the ageing vessel and the winemaking technology, sometimes less of this chemical element is needed.
There are three brothers in the Balaton-based Légli family, two of whom started wineries, while the third became a potter. He has had clay amphorae in his range for more than ten years, so Hungarian wineries don't have to go too far to give them a try. Attila Légli's customers include big names such as the Somlói Apátsági Pince, Csetvei Winery and SanzonTokaj, but the Bencze Family Estate have also bought amphorae from Légli Major, as well as from several foreign producers.
A few years ago, Vylyan Winery launched their “Variáció series”, in which the wines of the “Vörös Variáció” (Red Variation) - Cabernet Franc, Csókaszőlő, Kékfrankos and Syrah - were partly made in amphora: to create the end product, the wines were first matured in amphora and then rested in stainless steel tanks before bottling. St Donat Organic Estate also adds a little excitement to their wines in a similar way. As winemaker and owner Tamás Kovács says, he always tries to emphasise the terroir in his wines and adapts the winemaking accordingly - which may mean that the wine is partially aged in amphora.
When the vessel takes centre stage
Two years ago, Pap Wines on Szent György Hill started an interesting experiment: owner Áron Molnár was not satisfied with merely fermenting and ageing his wines in amphora. There is an ancient winemaking technique dating back 4,000 years and still used in Georgia, in which the wine is aged in a so-called qvevri (now an origin protected term, which can only be used in Georgia). This is buried in the ground to ensure a constant, low temperature - although technological advances have made this unnecessary. Áron, however, has gone back to this ancient method and has tested how the wine would turn out if it were aged underground in amphora. You can’t taste the results yet as his first experiment is currently resting in barrel.
There are also those who are not only making the wine in amphora, but also bottling it in it. This year, Válibor has released its new Kéknyelű: a limited edition of just 1,000 bottle-shaped ceramic bottles. Similarly, István Ipacs Szabó (Ipacs Szabó Birtok) also has such a wine: to make his Időtlen, he harvested white and black grapes together, fermented and matured them in amphora and then packed them in ceramic bottles.
This type of winemaking is much more than a marketing ploy: it gives the winemaker some space to play around and the opportunity to find their dream style. So this is a win-win for the consumer.
