Interview with Elisa Martelli
There is a thousand-year history behind one of the winemaking techniques that tells the present and the future of Italian wine. Day after day, more and more wineries in the Belpaese are following the amphora road. For an entire line or ad hoc experiments for specific vines, in recent years Italian winemakers have been dedicating themselves to the winemaking technique using containers between 200 and 800-1000 liters in amphora, a material cooked at variable temperatures that thanks to its porosity it allows a good oxygenation of the wine and at the same time allows the grapes to express themselves freely, without influencing it.
The first to use the amphora in winemaking are Georgia and Armenia, who choose the Qvevri, now recognized as a World Heritage Site by Unesco, initially used for the conservation and transport of wines, and then later enter the phase of vinification, traditionally underground. Starting from the third millennium BC, in Greece and Crete, wine settlements and cellars begin to host the phitos, large ceramic amphorae of several dozen hectoliters of capacity. The diffusion of the amphora continues with the Celts who bring this material to Rethia, an area that today corresponds to the region of Alto Adige in Italy, to Bavaria and Austria, for the production of beer. It is from here and from its extension to the world of wine that the material begins to spread throughout Northern Europe. If over time the use of these containers has been abandoned in favor of other materials such as wood, in some areas of Spain or Puglia (region south of Italy), the tradition in amphora has continued over time. But it is in recent years that this winemaking technique is taking on a central role in Italy.
Very young Tuscan winemaker, born in 1982, Elisa Martelli is a proud supporter of vinification in amphora. After experiences around the world and over a year of studying the material and its use, directly in Azerbaijan, Martelli began to apply this technique in various Italian companies for which he works as a consultant, favoring the use of amphora for red berried grapes of merlot, sangiovese, syrah, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon.
Martelli, how and when did this type of technique begin to spread also in Italy?
“The first to experiment with the winemaking techniques he learned in Georgia at the end of the nineties is the Friulian Josko Gravner, who in ’97 carries out the first harvest in underground amphorae and then replaces, starting from 2000, all the containers in his cellar with some Georgian Qvevri. Gravner bases his company philosophy on intervening as little as possible on what nature gives us, embracing a millenary history that is impossible to ignore: his wines remain on the skins for months in the presence of part of the stalks, fermenting without any temperature control. and hand punching down. Starting from his example and the success of his wines, more and more producers have realized the numerous benefits that winemaking in amphora entails and have at the same time embraced this philosophy. To this day, the market for wines in amphorae is growing rapidly ».
What are the differences between Georgian and Italian amphorae ？
«Not all amphorae produced in Italy are the same. Most of those produced in an artisanal way in our country starting from terracotta have characteristics similar to the Georgian ones. The differences are to be found in the material used for the production and in the different cooking temperature. Georgian amphorae are cooked at temperatures ranging between 960 and 1040 ° C. Temperature also reached in cooking for the normal terracotta jars used for wine produced in central Italy, as well as in Spain. This involves obtaining a very porous material and consequently oxygenating towards the must and the wine. Georgian amphorae are also usually buried to reduce the porosity of the material they are made of. Traditionally they cannot be hermetically sealed, but by placing a wooden lid and a weight over the mouth. In addition to the amphorae and terracotta jars of central Italy, there are some companies that produce amphorae starting from specially studied and selected materials to obtain a product with a lower porosity and a product with defined characteristics. The cooking of mixtures at temperatures ranging from 1200 to 1260 ° C ensures that the final porosity of these amphorae is lower than that of the barrique.
By further increasing the firing temperature of the material, stoneware is obtained, a material used for the production of flooring that has recently also entered the enological world. The artificial mixtures used have a very low porosity compared to the Georgian ones, quantifiable in a value of 80-90% less than a wooden barrel ».
What are the advantages of this type of vinification on white and red grapes?
«The choice of the type of amphora must be made on the basis of the oenological objective and the vinification that one intends to implement. With some exceptions, such as stoneware, the amphora is a porous container. It therefore allows to micro-oxygenate the musts and wines contained therein with a quantity of oxygen comparable to that of a barrique. Consequently, red wines are more open to the nose, the fruit is more intense and the tannins are generally softer. Unlike wood, which releases tannins and has a clear aromatic and gustatory influence on the wine, the amphora respects the varietal of the wine much more, without adding any exogenous note.
Even white grapes can be processed in amphora. The micro-oxygenation of the must allows white wines to macerate on their skins for a long time without causing oxidation and modulating their astringency. White wines vinified and macerated for a long time in amphora are clearly very different compared to the same ones vinified with direct pressing of the skins and in steel at low temperatures, but they are no less interesting or of lower quality. The wines are richer, almost chewable in the mouth, due to maceration and normally the greater polyphenolic structure allows them to be kept for longer over time. All this while maintaining the main characteristics of the vine. Furthermore, the rounded shape of the amphorae facilitates the suspension of the fine lees of the wine, increasing the sensations of fat and softness ».
Why is there always a greater use of this type of technique today?
“I believe that after years of excessive use of wood and bottling of wines that are very concentrated and loaded from the point of view of the polyphenolic structure, today’s trend is to produce wines that are fruity, enjoyable, balanced and expression of the grape variety of origin . In this sense, the amphora is perfect, because it enhances the characteristics of the vine without covering them ».
What is the future for wines in amphora?
«The technique in amphora remains today a type of niche winemaking due to the small volume of the amphorae, the difficulty of managing the grapes and musts inside these containers and more generally the management of the cellar spaces. However, the general interest in this type of product, the consequent growing demand for wines fermented and preserved in amphora, the countless studies on the production materials of these containers, especially regarding the porosity and certification of the material, are showing day by day that no it is a passing trend, but rather a rapidly growing market ».
