Inspiration from Georgia
Going back to the roots is trendy.
I visited Georgia to understand what lies behind the wines of that country. This is one of the most intriguing regions showcased during natural wines fairs, from London’s Raw to the more extreme ones such as Les Pénitentes and Dive Bouteille in the Loire Valley or H20 Vegetal in Tarragona. I knew Georgian wines are unique and their striking authenticity makes them addictive. I decided to visit and learn about natural wines for myself, beyond current trends. The reason behind my trip became somewhat of an obsession.
To visit John Wunderman and his winegrower friends, to experience kvevri locally was a way to better understanding wines and to get to know the people involved, and from that experience, to discover the history of wine in contemporary Georgia. Finally, it was there that I met Keiko and Maika. We became friends. I was travelling with Imma Puig at that time, a friend with whom I was writing a book on people through vines. Whilst looking for a wine producer in the lost art of amphorae, I discovered through the eyes of these delightful nomads, a unique sensibility and a more profound knowledge of wine, extending my understanding to its acoustic qualities.
I appreciated their deep feeling, pure soul and magnificent taste buds. These are not mere observers; these are two women who listen to the secrets of wine and who are friends with all the winegrowers they meet. One has to meet them to know they will love them forever. In this book, they have brought to life the tangible and photographed the intangible. A book made entirely of poetic images. They share a unique sensitivity, intuition, gift, empathy, closeness and passion for wine and amphorae as no one else does. They have developed a real devotion to roots, to those of the soil, wine, cooking, art, of the portraits, singing and of flamenco dancing. They shared with me their project for a book with an Andalusian accent straight from the gipsy neighborhood of Jerez! The combination of Flamenco and amphorae… felt like getting attached to the earth again, like being captivated by authenticity, by people.
Their journeys to Georgia and back took them to idyllic nooks. Places they visited recently for their latest discoveries, as is the case of Jacopo, our cook in El Celler, today a winegrower on his beloved island of Pantelleria. Behind this book, we can find a sincere, earthy love, from Juan Padilla, who shares his work in the form of jars around the world, from Rafa Bernabé, Ciryl Fhal, and so many others they crossed on their path amongst the jars, the amphorae.
Our shared admiration for Georgia, the kvevri, its natural wines, jars and flamenco brought us together and has undoubtedly led to a deep-rooted friendship. There lies the cradle of wine. Today its liquid history is an inspiration but also a practical inspiration because of the kvevri. Today Georgia is trendy again, as if kvevri is making a big comeback.
Georgia has inspired important figures in the world of wine to change their techniques. Josko Gravner, a pioneer of the new generation, who has journeyed beyond traditional avenues of Georgia, Armenia or Anatolia. Thierry Puzelat de Le Clos du Tue-Boeuf, has been driven by his intuition and passion to become a fervent leader to raise awareness for the cult of kvevri and the cultural heritage of Georgia. Stéphane Tissot seems enamoured with jars and is offering a new texture through his Savagnin and Trousseau wines. This is a new more open and friendly texture for the French Jura, which has gone viral for natural wines.
Laureano Serres in Terra Alta, Joan Ramón Escoda in Conca de Barberà, Philippe Viret in the Rhône, Josep Mitjans in el Penedès, Salvador Batlle in Empordà, Marcelo Retamal in Isla de Maipo and Elqui Valley, Gerardo Michelini in Úco Valley, Paolo and Gustav Wild in Clare Valley in South Australia; Peter Jakob Kühn in Rheingau, Heiner Sauer in Pfalz, Radikon d’Oslavia or Elisabetta Foradori in Trentino. Sicily may not take her inspiration from Georgia but rather from traditions followed since ancient times. There the Occhioppinti and COS families are a symbol of the past and of today’s reality.
Kvevri, a symbolic jewel.
Wines in amphora, jars, kvevri. Is this a journey back? I like the shape of the amphora; I find it sensual and practical. The amphora was used to carry the most important liquids namely water, milk, and the first processed foods such as beer, oil and of course wine. They were used by ancient civilizations, by the Greeks and Romans, for carrying and preserving grapes, wine, olives, olive oil, grains, fish and other essentials. They were produced in large scale at the time of Ancient Greece and their use was common throughout the Mediterranean up to the VII century when they were replaced by containers made of wood and leather.
An amphora is an earthy vessel of substantial size bearing two handles and a large narrow neck. Perhaps we confuse amphorae with jars or kvevri. Amphorae were created with the aim to be carried whereas the Georgian jars and kvevri remain in one place. In any case, we are dealing with containers made of different clays. On average, the volume of an amphora was approximately 25 to 30 litres (one cubic foot). In Greece, the volume of an amphora was 26 litres; in Rome, it was 32.3 kg or litres of water, in Babylonia 30.3 kg or litres of water. One could tell how old the wine was by the inscriptions stating the consular year of the vintage, the quantity and type of wine, which led to the use of the term meliore to describe a more precious and delicate type of wine. In Ancient Egypt, 27 kg or litres of water were needed to fill up a medium size amphora.
Jar, kvevri, amphora for wine.
Kvevri evoke the soil they are made from, the wines they have contained, the enduring fossil energy like those undetectable energies found in people, in vineyards, in the space where wines are born, in the atmosphere that surrounds them…and which come from years of resting, from customs entombed in the clay, from being undisturbed, and which awaken and come back to life with the must of every new vintage, through interaction, knowing that each kvevri hides an immutable agent which activates an inheritance that is renewed, harvest after harvest. No container is neutral, everything mixes inside the kvevri. The life of the wine inside the soil flows, flows until it reaches the mouth.
Spatial agent & temporal agent
Parisian researchers Anne Marie Amblard and Jean-Louis Gavard focus their work on energy and electromagnetic fields. They have analyzed the properties of the various materials used in the production of wine containers. They have compared the oscillation frequencies of stone, concrete, wood, steel and plastic, with those of fine wines. They have proved that clearly stone showed the largest resonance compared with wine. Concrete also gave promising results. Wood came up third but at a significant distance from wine. There are other materials used to make wine, from plastic to glass, but the amphora is the nearest to the soil where the vine feeds from.
Stainless steel & kvevri
One could imagine the benefits of the jar or kvevri for wine, since they are more neutral than other materials, with variations ranging from the different clays used, to depending on the porosity of the clay, to the shape, the size and even the drying process. This brings a creamier savor to the wine and the container breathes better. Vitrified amphorae excel in cleanliness but become soulless and lose contact with the soil. Compared to stainless steel, the difference with the amphora can be seen as that between:
- Ying and yang
- Light and dark
- Hot and cold
- Receptive and creative
- Passive and active
- Contraction and expansion
- “Clay is moulded to shape into pots.
- being in the non-being
- making the vessel useful“
- “advantage comes from what is
- usefulness comes from what is not.“