Aging in clay pots

[tetritolia]

Hello everyone from (Republic of) Georgia.
We have a unique technology in use here called Kvevri. You can read about it on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvevri or, briefly, it's a large clay amphora that is "planted" in the ground. According to region, these are either kept in a wine cellar or directly outside in the open air.

The main purpose of the kvevri is for traditional style winemaking. Once the grape harvest is crushed the lot of it is poured into kvevris. According to region either the entirety of the pomace is added or some fraction of it. It's then sealed with beeswax and left till the spring after which it's decanted and bottled. The result (assuming successfully carried out procedures) is a wild, complex, dynamic, and earthy wine.

Now I've got to thinking about what if I age a brandy in it. We make a lot of grappa and fruit brandies but there's not really a culture of aging drinks here (rather just gulping everything down). I found some old men in the villages who mentioned that in their father's or grandfather's day they would also store things like wild plum brandy in the kvevris for up to a year. But also kvevri culture is much diminished these days as it takes a lot of effort to keep them clean and they're more prone to failure if you don't know what you're doing. So I pretty much don't know anyone here who is aging spirits in kvevri and everyone I asked says no it's pointless. But I don't see why. It shouldn't interfere with the natural flavor of the spirits as much as wood and yet add a level of complexity that you wouldn't get from glass. The only drawbacks I can see would be once again keeping the kvevri clean and well sealed, and also it being a lot more difficult to put in a new kvevri than to get a new glass demjohn if you end up wanting to age something for a number of years and ran out of kvevri space because you have too many things going at once.

Anybody have some thoughts?

[SassyFrass]

Yep, I had to go read the wikipedia on this. Interesting method.
According to wiki brandy and other things have been aged in the clay pots.
I would probably try to source some smaller clay vessels, and see what happens over a year or three.
It sounds like a really interesting experiment. I hope you keep us informed if you decide to do it.
Good luck.
SF

[Demy]

I did not know this traditional method. I make my own wine with no added yeast and you are right, they have a complex character.As for your question, I see no problem keeping your distillate that way as long as it is hygienic and sealed. But also evaluate the porosity of the clay that could make most of your product "disappear". We usually think of aging in wooden barrels but also "white" aging improves the product, especially fruit distillates due to some chemical reactions that occur over time such as esterification. I know that some distilleries here in Italy leave fruit distillates in stainless steel containers for a few years.

[zach]

There is long history of Pisco (a Peruvian white brandy) in clay pots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisco

[tetritolia]

Now that's super interesting Zach. Seems like the amphora tradition is shared between Georgia and the Iberian peninsula. Interesting how it continues that way in Latin America. Thanks for sharing! And thanks all for your thoughts. I will definitely post some more once I have some practical stuff to show.

[Windswept]

But also evaluate the porosity of the clay that could make most of your product "disappear".

It mentions in the article that the kvevri are coated with beeswax.

[zach]

Now that's super interesting Zach. Seems like the amphora tradition is shared between Georgia and the Iberian peninsula. Interesting how it continues that way in Latin America. Thanks for sharing! And thanks all for your thoughts. I will definitely post some more once I have some practical stuff to show.

The history of amphora in the wine trade goes back even further with Phoenicians from Lebanon to the Iberian peninsula.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenicians_and_wine

Alexander the Great conquered the Phoenicians and likely brought the amphora full of wine to western asia during his military campaigns.

[Demy]

But also evaluate the porosity of the clay that could make most of your product "disappear".

It mentions in the article that the kvevri are coated with beeswax.

Yes, but I have deduced that the lid is sealed, not the whole amphora.But I have read several articles and it seems you are right.

[Windswept]

There's a guy in the US that's doing this now.