How amphoras are made. An ancient vessel, rebuilt by hand in Trentino.

A ceramics family turns to wine

The story starts in Trentino, with a family that has worked in ceramics for three generations, making traditional Tyrolean stoves. Francesco, who had been studying philosophy at the University of Padua, came home when his father fell ill. Back in the family workshop, the idea took shape: why not make amphoras for wine?

He and a few friends started what became the Tava project. They studied traditional amphoras from Georgia, Spain and Tuscany, the kind still used by producers such as Josko Gravner, Elisabetta Foradori and Giusto Occhipinti. Those vessels had real strengths, but also a weakness that many winemakers had found: too much oxygen could get through the clay. The goal was to keep the good and remove the bad, using modern technology.

A secret clay recipe and a research lab

The heart of the project is the clay blend. It combines clays mainly from Italy, sometimes from elsewhere in Europe, mixed to hit precise targets for stability, reliability and micro-oxygenation. The exact recipe stays a closely guarded secret, and the film makes clear why: years of experiments went into it.

The workshop runs its own laboratory for clay research and regular checks on how the fired clay interacts with wine. A researcher who met Francesco in Bordeaux works with the team, analyzing wines in the lab and comparing clay with oak and stainless steel in real cellars. You also see how clay compares with concrete: similar thermal stability, but clay allows a gentle, steady flow of oxygen.

Step by step: building an amphora by hand

Watching the craft is the joy of this episode. Clay bricks go through a machine that presses them into flat sheets the makers call a pizza. These sheets are pressed by hand into a plaster mold, and the seams where two sheets meet get the most attention, since that is where cracks can start. The clay must be just moist enough for hands to join it without trapping air bubbles, which could burst in the kiln.

One amphora is built in about a day: the bottom in the morning, closed by early afternoon. After a day in the mold, the top is released first so the piece does not collapse under its own weight. Round shapes are used for a reason too. Clay shrinks about 10% as it dries, and a curved form moves evenly where sharp corners would crack. Look out for the plants in the workshop, which help keep the air humid for the people working the clay.

Drying, firing and the porosity puzzle

Once finished, each amphora spends about a week in a first dryer at around 35 to 40°C and high humidity, then moves to a second dryer that takes it up to about 80°C. Only then does it go into the kiln, which the team calls the crucial step. Kilns built specifically for this job gave them the precision they needed.

Here is the clever part. Two amphoras can look identical but behave differently, because the firing temperature and curve set the porosity. Fire hotter and the clay gets closer to vitrification, letting less oxygen through. Fire too low and the material becomes unstable. Tighter porosity also makes the vessels far easier to clean between vintages, an old problem with traditional amphoras.

The winemakers who use them

The film also visits the cellars. A Bardolino producer explains why she avoids oak for the delicate Corvina and Rondinella grapes, and why stainless steel alone can leave the wine closed. In Lugana, south of Lake Garda, a young winemaker keeps Turbiana with skins and whole grapes in amphora for long periods and finds flavors steel cannot give.

Find out why the makers call the amphora an honest container, how the shape helps the wine move by convection, and why they see it as one tool among many rather than a rival to barrels and tanks.