Ancient Winemaking · Vinho de Talha
Vinho de Talha (Amphora Wine)
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The wine ferments and ages in the same style of clay amphorae the Romans used 2,000 years ago — every 11 November, on São Martinho's day, Alentejo villages still gather to tap the talha and drink the new wine straight from the clay.
Vinho de Talha is fermented and aged in large earthenware pots called talhas, with the skins, seeds and sometimes stems left in contact with the wine throughout. The result is an earthy, textured, slightly oxidative wine unlike anything made in steel or oak.
Why it's made this way: Alentejo is one of the only places in Europe where this Roman-era amphora technique never died out — small family producers kept it alive continuously for two millennia, and it earned its own DOC designation in 2012.
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