My next post on @potsinaction asks, Why was clay used historically in wine fermentation, storage & transportation? My friend & fellow fermenter @KenAlbala says that clay amphoras were used as far back as Egyptian times to make wine because, “They had clay around. As simple as that. Where they don’t have good clay they used gourds, wood, leather skins, etc. Clay isn’t necessarily a conscious choice or invention.” Ken is a potter, fermenter, food historian and Professor of History at University of the Pacific. In addition to being abundant and cheap, clay amphora — like the two Egyptian ones pictured — were used so that they could be filled with unfermented grape juice and then sealed with clay stoppers and left to ferment. These Egyptian stoppers were often stamped using a seal which detailed a wealth of information about the wine inside — a prehistoric label! In addition, clay is porous and allows the fermenting grape juice to breath, vital during fermentation when carbon dioxide is created & needs to be released. Beyond the practical aspects clay, many believe there are aesthetic and even spiritual reasons to use clay. “The ground has all the life you need to give birth to grapes,” according to Josko Gravner, a modern winemaker & proponent of the use of terracotta vessels. “A vine needs the earth to make a grape. Once you have that grape, you need the earth again to make the wine.” Photo courtesy of Egyptian Wine Production During the New Kingdom by Leonard H. Lesko.

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