the winegrowers offer wines aged in amphora

In Varrains (Maine-et-Loire), a winemaker has been using terracotta pottery for six years to develop his wine. According to the shapes of the amphoras, the wine is oxygenated differently. The ceramic does not bring aroma, unlike the woody side brought by a barrel. A winemaker wanted to test different winemaking techniques, with jars, amphoras, or more recently ovoid porcelain shapes. “It is the attraction of the Moon, which causes there to be a movement in all liquids (…) except that in the egg, it is accentuated”explains Nicolas Daheuiller, winemaker.

The winemaker works with ceramic engineers and each piece takes six weeks to make and is made to measure. “It is the winegrower who chooses, if he wants a significant contribution [en oxygène] or not”, says Claude Lory, ceramic engineer, production manager. Even if ceramics are twice as expensive as a barrel, winegrowers are more and more interested in pottery.