From La Mancha to Washington: A fragile story of culture, clay and wine

Modern winemaking, much like life at large, seems to exist at a crossroads.

As technological innovation pushes forward, it also seeks the wisdom rooted in ancient tradition, creating a paradox where ‘progress’ often depends on looking to the past.

In recent years, the revival of ancestral clay vessels – amphorae, qvevri, talhas, and tinajas – has gained significant popularity in cellars around the world, even as some have nearly disappeared from their places of origin.

Tabula rasa

In the United States, two Washington winemakers, Javier Alfonso of Pomum Cellars and Morgan Lee of Two Vintners, saw an opportunity to use Spanish tinajas – clay vessels that would enable them to lean on tradition, work towards a unique collaboration, and push boundaries that could drive the evolution of the state’s winemaking.

‘Washington is unique in that we have virtually no winemaking tradition to tie us to a particular style,’ explains Alfonso. ‘That makes us one of the most innovative wine regions in the world. Every winery, and there are over 1,000 of us, is experimenting with techniques that are “recycled” or reinvented from the old wine world’s past. I’m hopeful this will help define a particular style for Washington wine.’

In 2016, Alfonso and Lee acquired two rare, small-production tinajas directly from Spain and set out to experiment with these vessels. They each crafted a wine – one Syrah from Strand Vineyard and one Grenache from Boushey Vineyard – using the same technique of fermenting on the skins for eight months in the tinajas.

Bottling both wines simultaneously, their goal was to capture the true character of the grape varieties. This initial, small-scale experiment marked the start of a more significant commitment to utilising these traditional vessels in future vintages and a broader goal of eventually incorporating more tinajas into Washington’s wine production.

That all sounded like a promising plan – had one of these rare tinajas, among the only ones of their type to ever reach the US, not been broken.

The fragility of tradition

‘Devastating. It was the middle of the 2017 vintage, and I had not properly secured the tinaja to the new rack I had custom-designed specifically for it. In a rush to get something else done, I hastily moved the rack, and the tinaja just toppled over,’ says Alfonso.

This incident underscored the delicate nature of working with ancestral vessels. While they can last a lifetime, when handled carefully, they still carry an inherent fragility.

Historically, tinajas are crafted entirely by hand and fired in traditional wood-fired kilns, typically the size of a building.

Then there’s the clay and its quality. Derived as much from the essence of the soil as from the skilled hands grinding, kneading, and shaping it into these vessels. This human element – the artistry, intuition, and dedication to a timeless, time-consuming art passed down through generations – made each tinaja unique and irreplaceable.

To ‘complicate’ matters further, Alfonso’s broken tinaja had been crafted by Juan Padilla, the most renowned artisan in Villarrobledo, a town in the Spanish region of Castilla-La-Mancha.

Even worse, Padilla retired in 2022, leaving no apprentices to carry on his legacy – and Alfonso with no chance to get his singular tinaja replaced.

The Padilla pedigree

‘I own tinajas from other manufacturers, but Mr Padilla’s craftsmanship philosophy is completely different,’ says Alfonso. Padilla’s process was said to be so precise that it would take him months to shape and dry the tinajas before firing them at temperatures near 900ºC, using over 50,000 kg of pine wood.

This careful technique was highly appreciated by his clients because it made the vessels more durable without imparting any added flavour. Alfonso also adds that while other artisans often use internal coatings like beeswax to minimise excessive oxygen transfer, Mr. Padilla never did.

As a result, the walls of his tinajas were typically thicker and heavier than those of other makers.

‘He also believed that his tinajas would perform better over time as the tartrate coating built up in thickness,’ Alfonso adds. As the tartrate accumulates, it slows oxidation – one of the many qualities winemakers who focus on ‘low-intervention’ and terroir-driven wines appreciate in tinajas.

All of these elements have placed Padilla’s tinajas in high demand among famous clients such as Italian producers Frank Cornelissen, Giusto Occhipinti (Azienda Agricola COS), and Elisabetta Foradori (Azienda Agricola Foradori), and Spanish producers like Pepe Mendoza in Alicante, Bernardo Ortega in Castilla-La Mancha, and Javier Arizcuren in Rioja.

Each of them discovered Padilla exclusively through word of mouth, a quintessential, old-school rural artisan entirely detached from modern technology like email, cell phone, or social media.

After many attempts to contact him for this story, it became clear that Padilla had retreated fully into the quiet simplicity of his craft and lifestyle, leaving his legacy to speak for itself.

And then there was one

Morgan Lee, who still has his tinaja from Padilla at Two Vintners in Woodinville, Washington, has been experimenting with different varieties since his first vintage in collaboration with Alfonso.

‘I make Grenache every year, but I’ve also done a fermentation of Cabernet Franc once. I love how it accentuates its earth tones and adds complexity to this grape,’ says Lee.

Currently, the winemakers have no plans for another collaboration. ‘We would have liked to continue our Padilla experiment, perhaps with white and orange wines, but unfortunately, fate put an end to that just after one vintage,’ says Alfonso.

While Alfonso is unlikely to have the chance at another Padilla tinaja, he takes comfort in the fact that his expertise with these vessels has evolved over time. Both Pomum and Two Vintners work with tinajas from different makers and now regularly incorporate tinaja-fermented or aged lots into many of their wines.

‘Remember that this collaboration began eight years ago, and we’re now very comfortable using these vessels, which enables us to fine-tune our winemaking approach and achieve the precise results we aim for in our ‘modern’ wines,’ says Alfonso. ‘I still view winemaking as more of an art than science,’ says Lee.

‘However, honouring tradition doesn’t mean letting it hold us back. Instead, we use its wisdom as a foundation to innovate while staying true to the roots that shaped us,’ Lee concludes.

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