Vessels and Varietals: The Return of Clay

In advance of this month's Vessels and Varietals event, Cobble Hill Winery is taking a closer look at the long relationship between clay and wine, and at why these ancient vessels are enjoying a modern renaissance. Before oak, there was clay. Before glass, there was pottery. And for thousands of years, the story of wine was shaped not only by grapes and place, but by the vessels that held them.

Clay reminds us that the tools of wine are also works of art. A vessel can be functional, beautiful, and historically important all at once. Looking at photos of these vessels, it's clear the makers took pride in beauty as much as function.

The original wine vessel

Clay is the OG of winemaking, and it's what makes this event so special. Amphorae, tinajas, dolia, and qvevri were the tools of the trade for fermenting, aging, storing, and transporting wine across ancient civilizations. In a SevenFifty Daily article on clay vessels, Patrick McGovern of the University of Pennsylvania Museum notes that Neolithic wine vessels discovered in Georgia were tested and confirmed to be the oldest yet found, and that nearly every major ancient culture, from the Canaanites and Egyptians to the Greeks and Romans, vinified wine in pottery vessels.

Why clay is back

Clay is seeing a revival not because it is romantic, although it certainly is, but because it offers practical advantages that modern winemakers still value. As SevenFifty explains in its reporting on the comeback of clay vessels, terra-cotta pots can allow oxygen exchange, provide insulation, and interact with wine differently than stainless steel, oak, or concrete.

That middle ground is part of the appeal. Clay can soften and shape a wine without contributing the flavor imprint of oak, which makes it especially attractive to producers who want to preserve purity of fruit and a direct sense of place. In an era when many winemakers are looking for freshness, texture, and transparency, clay offers a way to guide the wine without overpowering it. To be fair, neutral oak and stainless, do much the same thing but sit lower on the romantic meter.

Ancient amphora

Clay has real downsides too. As Grape & Wine Magazine points out in its reporting on the amphora revival, the vessels are heavy and prone to cracking when moved, they are harder to clean than steel, and even the largest amphora holds far less wine than a single steel tank, so a winery needs many vessels to match the volume of one fermenter. Porosity cuts both ways as well. As World of Fine Wine notes in its comparison of winemaking vessels, older, more porous clay allowed a much higher passage of oxygen than today's amphorae, with Georgian qvevri estimated at an oxygen transmission rate around 50 times greater than a modern amphora. That same quality that gives clay its appeal, the ability to soften a wine through gentle oxygen exchange, can just as easily push a wine toward premature oxidation if the vessel isn't matched to the style being made.

Earth, fire, and form

Part of clay's renewed fascination lies in its physical presence. A clay vessel is not only a tool of fermentation but also an object made by hand, shaped by earth and fire before it ever touches juice. 

The language around clay vessels can be surprisingly specific. According to SevenFifty's overview of amphorae, tinajas, dolia, and qvevri, an amphora technically refers to a narrow, handled vessel often used historically for transport, while tinajas and dolia were larger working vessels used in production. Even the forms themselves tell a story: shape affected how wine fermented, how lees moved, how caps were managed, and how easily the vessel could be stored or cleaned.

Modern day Qvevri

That design logic reaches back to the origin of the vessels themselves. As Vinepair explains in its history of wine transport, the narrow, slim neck common to amphorae reduced the surface area of wine exposed to oxygen, and the pointed or tapered base seen across amphorae, tinajas, dolia, and qvevri helped limit that exposure even further. Ancient winemakers understood that too much air contact turned wine to vinegar. The vessel's form did as much work as its material to keep the wine sound, which is part of why the same porous walls that allow gentle oxygen exchange today are paired with a shape built, thousands of years ago, to limit it at the opening.

Qvevri for fermenting. These are often buried in the ground.

Ancient vessel, modern purpose

One reason clay continues to intrigue winemakers is that it can feel both ancient and contemporary at the same time. In Georgia, traditional qvevri are still buried underground, lined with beeswax, and used for long fermentations and aging, preserving a method that has endured for millennia. In other regions, winemakers are experimenting with above-ground clay vessels of different sizes, shapes, and firing temperatures to achieve distinct effects in texture, oxygen exposure, and temperature regulation.

That is what makes this a renaissance rather than a trend. Clay is returning not as nostalgia alone, but as a serious vessel for serious wine. Its reemergence reflects a broader interest in methods that combine craftsmanship, restraint, and a closer connection between material and terroir.

A natural pairing for Vessels and Varietals

For Cobble Hill Winery's upcoming event with the Cowichan Clay Guild, clay offers a beautiful point of connection between disciplines. The same material that once helped define the earliest history of wine still invites artists and makers to shape something useful, tactile, and expressive. Wine and clay both ask for patience, skill, and sensitivity to process.

That may be the real beauty of clay in the wine world. It reminds us that a vessel is never just a container. It is part of the experience, part of the story, and sometimes part of the wine itself.

P.S.

The Winemaker and I often enjoy our table wines in hand-thrown mugs, saving white wine glasses for sparkling or for those moments when we want to fully appreciate the color. We've found that earthenware can elevate a wine in a way glass doesn't quite match… but that could just be the romantic in me. :-P