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Thursday, October 04, 2012

A full-bodied approach to natural wine-making

Open topped fermenters lined by animal pelts, amphorae, concrete eggs – what else? If some folks have it their way, they next wave of grass roots wine-making will be done in recycled Etruscan sarcophagi.

It’s not that far fetched. Etruscan stone coffins litter the Tuscan countryside, making it difficult to develop the land when they are discovered. Being wine country, Tuscany has a ripe opportunity to cash in on eno-tourism. Winemaking, from the cradle to the grave.

One observer was noted as saying, “This is win-win for all. We can’t move the things. And many of them are resting in underground caves. It would be the perfect place to make small-batch artisanal wine the likes of which the Georgians, the Friulans and the French terroirists can only dream of making.”



In other news, the firm that bought the concrete egg from Marc Nomblot, the Bonna Sabla Group, who also produce concrete caskets, have announced they are looking into long-term leases of uninhabited funéraire cimetière in Paris. Most notable are some of the prized ones at the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Just imagine the possibilities: a Gertrude Stein orange Chenin, a Jim Morrison wild yeast Malbec, or an Honoré de Balzac botrytised Barsac.

Noble rot, indeed.

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