Beckham amphora wine

Long before wine was made in oak barrels and stainless steel, people scooped up clay from the earth and they shaped it into vessels for fermentation.

These first wine vessels, made in the Republic of Georgia over 6000 years ago, were called “Qvevri.”  Lined with beeswax, they were buried underground for temperature control as the wines fermented in the stable coolness of the earth.  

Amphora are large clay vessels used since ancient times to ferment grapes and age wine; Andrew Beckham makes them today in his studio In Oregon near his vineyards.

The Romans used a potter’s wheel or turn table to make their clay pots for wine fermentation; these amphora had a base to stand above ground. Continue reading →