We’ve talked at length in
class about what it means for a wine to be authentic. I must first confess to
be a philistine in this matter. Authenticity is frankly not one of my key
concerns in wine selection. What matters most to me is taste and value for
money. In this regard, I measure a wine’s “authenticity” in two ways: how true it
is to its origin, and how true it is to a particular tradition. The former is really
about marketing and honesty. Is the wine what it claims to be? If the winery
does not have a vineyard, sources its juice from a variety of producers and use
liquid wood, say so. Don’t hide the fact, or worse concoct some fantasy about the blind artisan who has labored for years to create the perfect wine and charge inflated prices. My second
measure of authenticity is an extension of the first. How close was the process
of making this wine to its historical or traditional roots? We saw an example
of this in the Barolo Wars, the struggle between traditionalists and modernists.
In recent years, some winemakers have taken this form of authenticity to its extreme.
As highlighted by Team
Georgia, the earliest archaeological evidence for wine production was found in
Georgia, about 6000 BC. The qvevri, or kvevri, a clay vessel between 100 and
4000 liters in volume and lined with beeswax was used in every stage of wine
production. A qvevri would first be totally buried in the ground. Grapes were dumped into the vessel, crushed, and allowed to ferment. Once the
period of primary fermentation was over, the qvevri was covered with a large
stone to create an airtight seal. The qvevri was then left undisturbed for up
to two years, allowing the wine to undergo malolactic fermentation and a period
of aging. The result is a highly tannic wine that is said to express its
terroir much better (presumably due to the juices’ closer contact with the
soil???) than those fermented in either wooden or steel barrels.
Since the early 2000s, there
have been an increasing number of high-end producers outside Georgia turning to qvevris
to make their wine. So much so that demand for the clay vessels has outstripped
demand. The adoption of the qvevri has mostly taken place amongst winemakers in
Italy, Slovenia and Austria. Interest from American producers has
been weak, probably due to the price and scarcity of qvevris. Prices
for a qvevri range from $8,000 to $14,000 each, 10 to 20 times the price of a
barrique barrel. Unfortunately, the only American winery I could find openly
touting its qvevri credentials was Pheasant’s Tears in Georgia (the state). No
field study trips any time soon L
Some useful links:
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