🍷 Clay wine vessels
Large clay vessels where wine has been fermented and stored since ancient times.
Clay wine vessels are large vessels in which wine has fermented and been stored since antiquity. Clay is one of the oldest materials for wine. It is shaped, fired and buried in the ground or placed in a cellar. Clay walls let in a little air, like wood, but do not give the wine flavour.
In different countries such vessels have different names. In Georgia it is the qvevri, buried in the ground. In Armenia, the karas. In ancient Greece, the pithos and amphora, in ancient Rome, the dolium. In Spain, the tinaja. All are alike in idea: a large clay container.
Wine in a clay vessel ferments calmly, because the earth and thick walls keep a steady temperature. It is often left on the skins, which gives amber wine. Interest in such vessels has now returned, and clay wines are being made again in many countries.
Clay is not only for wine. In Georgia, matsoni, a fermented milk drink, is also soured in clay pots, in much the same way as wine in a qvevri.
What it includes
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Clay wine vessels ← kind of ← 🍷 Qvevri ← packed in ← 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍾 Wine containers, glassware and serving
- Wine and milk
- 🧀 Matsoni
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of clay wine vessels are there?
Qvevri in Georgia, karas in Armenia, pithos and amphora in ancient Greece, dolium in Rome, tinaja in Spain.
Why does wine ferment in clay?
The earth and thick walls keep a steady temperature, while clay lets in a little air and gives no flavour to the wine.
What wine comes from a clay vessel?
Often amber wine, if the wine is left on the skins.
Similar
🍷 Concrete vat · 🍷 Wooden vat · 🍷 Canned wine · 🍷 Demijohn · 🍷 Bag-in-box · 🍷 Wine in carton