How did the ancient technique of ageing wine in amphorae become trendy?
After drinking a particularly delicious glass of Amoise, Amphora Gris, 2021, $37, when I was out for lunch recently, I asked winemaker Amy Farnsworth what she felt the use of the tinajas gave to the finished wine.
“I feel that the tinajas allow for an authentic experience of the vineyard characteristics and what happened during the vintage that year,” she said. “There is a purity of fruit that I couldn’t obtain through old oak barrels. Clay retains small, fine, delicate tannins, followed by a vibrant and racy acidity. There’s an energetic quality that can’t necessarily be articulated in words.”