Photo of Brent Lello - Yass Valley Wine Advocate

Brent Lello – Yass Valley Times Wine Columnist

Winemakers are always looking for that extra edge to enhance the quality or add an extra dimension to their wines. We’ve talked before about the tremendous advancement in winemaking technology in the last several decades and the positive impact of such application on the wines we enjoy. But in a “back to the future” style twist, there seems to be increasing movement in winemaking circles towards applying ancient winemaking means and methods, including the use of Amphora and “Egg” style wine fermenters.

If you’ve ever been to a local Yass Valley region winery, you’ll have noticed the space-age looking stainless-steel tanks that are used to ferment and store wines and the ubiquitous oak barrels used for ageing predominately red wines.

But Amphora vessels have been used in winemaking for thousands of years, with the ancient Greek and Roman cultures using the cone-shaped terra-cotta pots to vinify their wines. Today, some winemakers now understand that the use of terra-cotta pots can tool them with some unique properties, including the extraction of acid from the wine, allowing the wine to ‘breathe’ and exchange oxygen, as well as being a highly insulated storage vessel – tick, tick and tick.

Perhaps even more intriguing is the use of “Egg” shaped winemaking vessels.

Literally shaped like a Jurassic sized bum-nut, these units are made with concrete, terra-cotta, or ceramic materials, and while they seem to have the same benefits as regular Amphora vessels, they also seem to have the added advantage of inducing a thermodynamic state or ‘vortex’ in the fermenting wine.

As the yeast does its job to ferment the wine, the yeast cells lighten their load and, due to their warmth, rise to the top of the egg, while the cooler wine sinks to the bottom, creating a continuously circulating convection in the wine. This cycle leaves the yeast lees in a suspended state, providing more flavour and texture to the resulting wine – well, that’s the theory anyway.

Some of our local Yass Valley winemakers have adopted the use of these types of vessels to provide perhaps, another point of difference to their wares. One such winemaker is Bryan Martin from Ravensworth Wines.

As stated on his website, he employs “…ceramic eggs, Italian Amphorae and strange concrete monoliths. All are designed for a longer elevage and set the wines up for a long happy life…”.

Ravensworth Wines in Yass Valley

A former Yass Valley winemaker and now Gundagai and Tumbarumba stalwart – Nick Spencer – is also using Amphora for several of his wines, including his latest release, Chardonnay and Gamay.

So perhaps there’s more to crack of this winemaking egg – We’ll just have to taste the difference for ourselves.

Cheers!

Brent Lello