Cocciopesto Vs Amphora Wines: Tenuta di Ghizzano

Drunk Turtle instructed the winemaker Enzo Brini for a “protocol of study on the effects of storing wine in cocciopesto wine amphorae and cement.”

By Francesca Ciancio
Nov 12, 2021
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Amphora Wines

Amphora wines for some might be just a trend, but for winemakers using this technique, the process leads to a more in-depth understanding of wine’s relationship with terroir.  Amphora are logistically speaking, simply ancient containers enabling the transportation of wines, grains, and oil to different destinations around the world.  


Some of the world’s most beloved examples of ancient Amphorae are from the areas between Italy and Slovenia.  These amphorae and their recovery owe much to the traditions of Georgian wine-making.  Wines here were fermented and aged in Qvevri, the Caucasian area later designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.


Just what are amphorae?

Simply terracotta containers made ad hoc for wine-makers in the former Soviet Union, the country of Georgia to be exact.  You might not know it, but this area is considered the cradle of Indo-European wine tradition, where we can trace back some of the world’s first traces of grape seeds, dating back to 6000 B.C.


Opus Signinum Wines

The term Opus signinum refers to an ancient building material created by the Romans whereby tiles are created from small broken-up tile pieces blended with mortar and pressed with a rammer.  This material, in Italian called cocciopesto, has found a new generation of believers in the wine world, with artisans once again using the material to create wine containers.  


Tenuta di Ghizzano and its Cocciopesto Use 

Sharing Ginevra Venerosi Pesciolini’s history is a bit like telling a fairy tale.  We can find the same elements of a charming village, an enchanted garden, the enduring silence of the Tuscan countryside, and the magnificent bounty of nature’s products.


Once we begin chatting however, the fundamental economic and business veins become more dominant. The more we speak, the more we can appreciate Pesciolini’s determination and grace as she and her sisters, Lisa and Francesca, and her mother, Carla, continue to turn their company into a success story.  


The company is focused on sharing its natural bounty with the public:  wines, legumes, wheats and grains, oil, fine fruits and vegetables.  The company has been certifiably organic since 2003, and biodynamic since 2006. Even though the company is organic in nature, its growth was anything but organic, or simple.  

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Tenuta di Ghizzano and its Cocciopesto Use 

Sharing Ginevra Venerosi Pesciolini’s history is a bit like telling a fairy tale.  We can find the same elements of a charming village, an enchanted garden, the enduring silence of the Tuscan countryside, and the magnificent bounty of nature’s products.


Once we begin chatting however, the fundamental economic and business veins become more dominant. The more we speak, the more we can appreciate Pesciolini’s determination and grace as she and her sisters, Lisa and Francesca, and her mother, Carla, continue to turn their company into a success story.  


The company is focused on sharing its natural bounty with the public:  wines, legumes, wheats and grains, oil, fine fruits and vegetables.  The company has been certifiably organic since 2003, and biodynamic since 2006. Even though the company is organic in nature, its growth was anything but organic, or simple.  


The winemaker's Tenuta di Ghizzano: Ginevra Pesciolini

I wasn’t born an enologist,” says Ginevra, “and the farm was managed with difficulty by my father because it wasn’t his first calling.  I would have loved to be more involved even from a younger age, but let’s just say that a woman following these qualifications would never have been accepted in my family. So I followed the road of publishing, a career that gave me great satisfaction and that I find quite interesting.  I was finally able to follow my passion however, when faced with the opportunity to move to Milan to pursue a career in publishing away from my family, or stay with my family but as a paid member of the family company. My father chose to keep me close!”  


Where are we? 

Ghizzano is the name of the small town located near the Tuscan town of Peccioli, in the heart of the Pisa province.  WE’re not terribly far from the Tyrrhenian Sea, located just about 30 kilometers away.
The area is part of the Pisan hills, an extremely heterogeneous piece of Tuscany, and an area that not too many wine enthusiasts and travelers know about at this stage.  

 

Getting to know a territory: Terre di Pisa and its DOC  

The Terre di Pisa DOC was founded in 2011, while its consortium (Consorzio), of which Ginevra is vice-president, was born in 2018.  “The most complicated element of our creation was convincing wine makers to leave the Tuscan IGT system and to join our DOC.  The former has such appeal, and enjoys a wider reputation thanks to the success of the nearby Bolgheri wine region. Our area is further defined by its soil composition, allowing an important presence of international grape varieties that however don’t add much to our special story.  However, belonging to the Doc Terre di Pisa means allowing only the mention of the Sangiovese grape on your wine labels. “


The Veneroso of Tenuta a Ghizzano wine selection

For me, there was no question that my Veneroso wine should immediately be included in our appellation, and my sales haven’t decreased even an inch thanks to this move.  I do understand however, that bigger producers with higher numbers of bottles produced face a completely different set of risks.  


The word “Pisa” also has a strong connotation, but we need to work on developing our ties with the Pisan territory.  Living in the city center, I often see plenty of visitors in the historic city center, and then they are promptly diverted to the Chianti wine region, when in my mind, they should be sent our way.”


The Tenuta di Ghizzano and its village are an intriguing example of enotourism

The first stop on our exploration is without question the Venerosi Pesciolini estate, whose core is a beautiful mid-14th century villa.  The villa complex is home to extensive underground cellars, and 300 hectares of land.   Here the estate’s vineyards and olive groves occupy at most 40 hectares, with the rest of the land dedicated to woods and arable lands.


Ginevra confirms, “organic and biodynamic methodologies were not a simple feat to manage.  However, given the isolation in which our estate can be found, it was a natural passage to undertake.  On our completely uncontaminated lands, we produce oil, chickpeas, pasta, and spelt.  You can find all of these products directly for sale in our estate shop.  Up until recently, my interactions with the people of these lands have been our public, and we’ve gotten to know them and their families intimately.  We believe the time has come to open up to the public at large,Ginevra concludes.


Mimesi, the wine estate expresses completeness in a new vintage

One of Ginevra’s most recent projects has been the launch of an estate wine made entirely from Vermentino grapes, an IGT Costa Toscana, as well as the launch of a red wine crafted entirely from Sangiovese grapes and part of the Terre di Pisa DOC.  


Ginevra chanced upon the name Mimesi, which recalls the Aristotelian principle of natural imitation.  In this case, we can apply the rule instead to what happens inside a glass.  Thanks to its keynote of natural elements, the choice of natural materials like cotton for its label, and recyclable cardboard for its boxes rings quite true.  


Everything in this project has a marvelous tactile dimension,” Ginevra explains.  “I hope the wines have that natural feel as well, as they are the product of our most ancient vineyards.”


The red wine is a 2018 Sangiovese selection.  The wine is fermented in cement, and aged in earthenware jars before its bottling process.  
The Vermentino instead is a 2020 selection, and is aged in terracotta amphorae.  Both ageing containers for the Sangiovese and Vermentino selections are both containers crafted with “living” materials, which are able to lend personality to the wines themselves.  


These two indigenous grapes therefore express the two facets of this wine-making region.  The Sangiovese selection begins to take on a lovely complexity thanks to a few years spent ageing.  At the same time, the wine maintains freshness and crispness thanks to the use of earthenware. The minimal exchange the wine has with the outside environment makes sure the wine doesn’t overly stiffen up, and leads it to a softer evolution instead.  


The white wine maintains an interesting advantage over coastal Vermentino selections.  This selection has much more structure, more body, and a freshness that while less immediate, expresses a much more vibrant acidit

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Opus Signinum at the heart of Wine Vases, and the Drunk Turtle’s Foresight

In the province of Pisa, Perignano to be exact, the wine vase producing company, Drink Turtle, was born.  This company specializes in the creation of wine vases made specifically with opus signinum.


According to Enzo Brini, one of the founders of Drink Turtle, this name could have created a bit of a stir, although instead, seems to have brought only luck to the project.


Just like the turtle,” Brini explains, “we take our time to create our products in an authentically artisanal process.  We’ve found that ageing wine should also follow this principle of slowly achieving a goal.  But finely aged, so that it can be enjoyed, of course!


Brini does know the inside and outs of the business, being an oenologist and owner of a highly-regarded winery in Montepulciano.   Six years ago, alongside the partnership of his father, an engineer and architect, Brini undertook the marvelous adventure of creating wine containers from cocciopesto. “We started the project during the heyday of cement vases and terracotta amphorae.  We decided to focus on an entirely different material, an ancient process perfected by the Romans and created by the Phoenicians,” Brini explains.  

 


What the difference is between terracotta and the cocciopesto?

During the study of building mortars and their role in restoration, the development of the materials used to make wine containers began.


In his treatise "De Architectura," written in the 1st century B.C Vitruvius described its production and use.  The ancient mixture, according to Vitruvius, was used to cover cisterns, thermal baths, uncovered terraces, house impluvium, and heated rooms.


It was also discovered to be helpful as a dehumidifying plaster. Amphorae instead are useful in retracing ancient trade routes, and were used primarily for the transportation of foodstuffs.  The Phoenicians ultimately began using amphorae also for wine-making.


My partner’s most ingenious idea was to use this material, cocciopesto,” Brini continues, “which is less porous than terracotta, and closer to cement as it reacts with oxygen. The cocciopesto does have additional advantages however.  Thanks to the lack of heavy metal presences, as with cement containers, it’s instantly suitable for food handling. As we only dry the materials instead of baking them, we can add stelle elements that would otherwise be impossible to include due to the use of heat,” Brini finishes.


Ours is a formula perfected over time. We kicked off with hydraulic lime, as the Romans did, but it didn't give us sufficient structural security.  We opted for terracotta, stones of various granulometry, marble and travertine powder and 10% cement.  The other fundamental step was to create moulds and counter-moulds in fiberglass similar to each other, allowing us to create a single piece,” Brini said.  


What does Opus Signinum wine taste like?  

More than half of the cocciopesto produced ends up being shipped and sold overseas.  One beer producer in Belgium is a devoted fan, as well as a few international distillers.  


Could Earthenware be the future’s go-to material in the wine world?

"Working with different thicknesses, up to a maximum of 10 centimeters,” Brini explains, “we can select to personalize the vases’ permeability depending on the type of materials used to create the project.


Wine in earthenware: Tasting

What about the taste - how does the wines’ aromas vary depending on which materials are used to create your selected cocciopesto vessel?

"If terracotta, particularly at the beginning stages, releases a strong earthy imprint,” Brini clarifies, “the cement will yield more mineral scents, especially if it is not vitrified. Earthenware, our clients also confirma, features a greater neutral flavor.  This neutral flavor tends to have a certain sweetness that we can identify as a feeling of greater softness,” Brini reasons.


Do we believe in Cocciopesto’s abilities?

We can stand to learn a great deal from history, particularly if the past in question deals with engineering and architecture that’s still so relevant today.  We often marvel at the wonders of ancient Roman technical ability and creative wisdom, so it stands to reason that admiration could apply to cocciopesto as well.


After all, the notion of Opus Signinum hails directly from that world, that glorious past.  It’s hardly a coincidence that wine could be seen as the contemporary of cocciopesto, as it too is the fruit of more human ingenuity.  


The present needs of this sort of material lies in its ability to relate to concepts that are today absolutely critical in the world of healthy agriculture, sustainability, craftsmanship and reduced invasiveness. 


Will Cocciopesto develop into the ideal fermentation and ageing container?  

We think it will likely not take that route, at least, that’s not the road its proponents are aiming for.   We’d be better suited to discuss valid alternatives to materials already popularly used in wine-making. 


What are those materials? 

Pure terracotta, cement, steel, and wood.   A wine estate’s selection of terracotta instead is a clear indication of that winery’s objective to not mark its wine with external elements, to let the grapes speak for themselves as they develop into distinctive wines over the course of time.  


Need proof of this theory? 

Look no further than Tenuta di Ghizzano’s Sangiovese Mimesi:  easy and tasty to savor now, it’s difficult to imagine what it will feel like in many years from now.  

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